Harvard Can Wait, no longer
by Tongue-Twied
Summary: Sequel to Harvard Can Wait. Their journey back to each other has just begun. How much does Bella remember about the meadow? Will their new lives at Harvard coax their journey along or stand in their way? If you read HCW, then you've come to expect twists, turns, and resolution in the very last chapter. Oh, and Bruno Mars music.
1. Prologue

**One long A/N: I've gotta say, I never thought about extending HCW beyond the original until you guys suggested it in your reviews. My idea for how to craft the first one so specifically that everyone 'fell for it' was so exciting to me that I was just happy I pulled it off. *evil laugh* I did right?**

**How would more story play out? S*it if I knew. I don't even know what I'm making for dinner on any given night. Though, I'm pretty sure tonight I'm having turkey. :) **

**Sequels are tricky. What if it's a huge letdown full of cliches? ****The last thing I wanted to do was be 'cliche' about this Edward and Bella. So I figured out a few points of the story and got really excited, but then I had to walk away from it completely for awhile, and this sequel became **_the story that almost wasn't. _

**Thankfully, I got some encouraging words on writing from a dear friend of mine who recently past away ** followed by watching and reading "Pride and Prejudice" for the first time in my life and I was tremendously inspired. _Jane Austen, was that you watching over my shoulder as I typed? _LOL, okay probably not. I love that movie. I loved the book. I love- love Mr. Darcy,_ most ardentl!_. **

**So here we are—and by 'we' I mean all of you, me and the loverly TwiWeasel who held my hand through this. Oh who am I kiTTing. She took the training wheels off when I wasn't looking and pushed me down the hill while she sat back drinking her lemon martinis. But she'd read bits and pieces of things I'd send her and then offer up theories and ideas, be a soundboard, and just always 'got' how this story needed to be told. Thank you! We may not be 'mother of the year' potential today, but hopefully our kids will grow up one day and read this and say how proud they are of us.**

**This story is dedicated to Pam (**mentioned above)-a friend of mine who started out as a career mentor but became a friend who freely offered up her life experiences and lessons learned to me always in an effort to get to the heart of the matter and put things in perspective. -a friend of mine who would not read Twilight because she didn't like "scary" things no matter how much I tried to convince her otherwise. -a friend that put up with me emailing her pictures of Rob and telling her how hot he was. -a friend who relented that the trailer for 'Remember Me' looked good. So I thought it was fiTTing to _Remember Her_ here. ****I wish heaven could have waited a little longer for her. **

*****Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.*****

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

_~xXx~_

**_Prologue_**

_~xXx~_

_What defines our journey through life?_

_Does our journey include only that which we know we've experienced, only that which we remember? Or is it a culmination of that which we've experienced and how we feel when those around us share stories of their experiences?_

_What parameters mark our journey?_

_Is it being so caught up along the way that we've fully lived each moment? Or, is it the moment that we reach our intended destination and can look back at everything it took to get there? _

_What if that journey is interrupted?_

_When destiny intervenes along the way and provides a second chance, is it just a brief opportunity to resolve old feelings that assimilates into the journey one's already on, or could it be enough to alter one's destination forever?_

_~x~_

**_A/N: Happy Thanksgiving!_**


	2. The Question

**A/N: It was the fall of 2009 when I discovered fanfiction. I was deeply devoted to "Emancipation Proclamation" by Khar. Perhaps you were too? I remember the late nights up reading, the cigarette cravings, my sudden inability to curb my cursing. I bring this up because I also remember she posted a new chapter on Thanksgiving Day that year. And we all know how long her f*cking chapters were, right? Needless to say, my turkey made it into the oven at least an hour later than expected. Priorities. So happy about the news of 'Sempre' being made into a movie. **

****Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.****

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

_~xXx~_

**The Question**

~x~

**At present**

"Bella, there's something I need to ask you," Edward started hesitantly. "Why did you agree to go get coffee with me that day?" he asked, just as he was sitting himself down next to her on the bench, before clarifying, "after orientation."

He showed no signs of being overly anxious, keeping the space between them platonic and curious, but he needed to see her eyes.

A few weeks ago, he had told himself that he could hold off asking her until today. Before he could even think about what the rest of his day entailed, he hoped to get a zealous dose of honesty from her. The kind that puts it _all on the line, _regardless of the consequences.

"Edward, I- I can't …" Bella turned away from him, grasping the bench's arm.

_Is she going to walk away from me? _He panicked over losing out on his chance.

"Bella, please?" His fingers circled around her wrist, gently. "I need to hear what happened between us that day."

~x~

**A/N: This is it for today! **

**Thanks to the 12monthers for their support!**

**Special thanks to DJ for her expert story advice. You can follow her on twitter (at sign )storywrtr**


	3. After Orientation

**_A/N: Hope your holiday weekend was great! _So good to hear from so many of you again! Thanks for all your **excitement** expressed over this sequel. That makes me excited...and nervous! ****Thanks to the loverly TwiWeasel for beta services. **

**Ready to find out what happened _that_ day? Let's do this!**

*****Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.******

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

_~xXx~_

**_After orientation_**

_~x~_

"Wow! That was a lot of information to take in. I think I'm gonna need a cup of coffee and some time to process it all." Edward turned to Bella. "How about you?" He flashed her a warm and inviting smile to push aside his fears that she would decline. He _wanted_ to be confident with how easy this was going to be. As soon as she sat down next to him, it had felt like just the two of them in the room instead of several students in a large lecture hall. Introductions were made by various faculty members and curriculums were discussed, but Edward barely heard any of it, as he was mostly concerned with being right there, sitting next to the girl he loved.

She had made it to Harvard. _She was really here. _In person, she was more beautiful than he expected and even had a healthy glow to her, despite the leg.

_This feeling! _He smiled to himself, basking. A feeling of being completely revitalized had surrounded him just from being near her. It was one hell of an incredible emotion-new and exciting-something he hadn't experienced prior to today. [Though destiny might have told him otherwise.]

But as strong as that feeling was, it only slightly masked his heart's realization that she didn't _recognize_ him the way he hoped she would when he introduced himself.

_Just get her phone number so you can ask her out and spend time with her. All you need is a little time with her, to find out... _He kept repeating this in his mind just before the seminar ended.

Bella looked around toward the back of the room then waved to someone. Edward's head snapped around to see who she was waving to, as a pang of jealousy surged through him, tensing his muscles sharply. She had been the only person he saw in that room, but with one simple gesture, he realized that he wasn't the only person_ she_ saw. In the crowd of students making their way to the front to exit the hall, Edward couldn't see who it was Bella had waved to. He dismissed it, eager to get a chance to talk to her.

"So Bella Swan, the bar-fight champion…" Edward stood up in front of Bella. "Coffee? Processing?"

Bella glanced at her watch. She had so much she needed to get done today, and it would take her so much extra time just to get around. She had barely made it to this orientation on time. Just getting from her condo to the parking lot this morning meant walking a long ramp instead of being able to take the outside corridor steps. _Thank goodness I found a seat close to the front, _she thought to herself. As she watched the other graduate students filtering out of the room, she reminded herself what a challenge it was going to be to make her way around as long as her leg was still healing.

God if she could just get through the next few months, maybe then…_then_, she might be able to get back to normal, whatever _that_ was going to be for her, she didn't know other than hopefully being able to walk without any residual limp and open up about herself to someone without crying. She wasn't sad over the loss of Mike, or that she was now on her own, just that he had tried to make her feel like a terrible person when she broke things off with him. He scolded her that she was ruining _his_ future. _What about her future? _Her face instantly buried itself in her palms at the thought of that painful conversation. There was no way she could get coffee with this guy, no matter how cute and friendly he was.

She sucked in a breath and removed her hands. He was looking at her with such a hopeful glint in his eyes. "Oh, thanks, but I really need to take care of a few things and…"

Her eyes followed him as he turned away and stepped past her to retrieve the crutches that had been placed to lean up against the wall. Then there was _something. _It was quick, like sand slipping between her fingers; she couldn't hold onto it, but there was something in her glimpse of him that held familiarity. In a rush, a tiny thread connected his stance, his height, and the haphazardness of the hair on the back of his head to something she couldn't explain. Her hand involuntarily reached out to the space between them, but when she realized, she jerked it back.

He had turned back and held the crutches out, extending a hand to her. "Are you sure?" He flashed his smile. "Just one cup?"

Bella had gone off to a distant place trying to hold onto a flash, there was such a feeling attached to it. She had always read about people feeling flabbergasted, not knowing exactly what that meant, but that was the only word that came to mind when she would later describe the way she felt in that moment.

When she resurfaced from her trance, she had changed her mind.

"I only have time for a quick cup." She looked at Edward with bright eyes.

The sounds of chattering students filled the building's hallway. There was a mass exodus through the doors that led outside the building, and Edward was sure to hold the door open for Bella to make it through at her own pace, giving a _don't- try-me-dude_ look to the guy behind Bella who impatiently sought to push his way past her when she stopped to remove her gum and put it in the garbage. Edward deposited his, too.

The day was warm, with a slight breeze. Bella wished that sunshine and fresh air were her walking crutches rather than these aluminum pieces. Looking off to the left, Bella realized they weren't far from an outdoor seating area complete with a coffee cart. She hadn't seen it on her way in, too determined to make it to the orientation.

They claimed a bench before Edward asked her how she took her coffee, offering to go get it. His nerves had subsided, and as he stood in line he couldn't help but text Emmett back.

**With her now.**

**That was fast! Does she know you?**Emmett responded.

**I don't know yet. **

With that, he clicked off his phone. He was not going to text his mom back. He had already followed enough of her instructions and advice. _His dad's too, _he thought and rolled his eyes.

_Cream and a little sugar. _He'd remember this for always. He chuckled to himself that there were so many regular everyday details to Bella that he wanted to find out, wanted to explore. _Fuck no! Don't think of exploring her body. Don't think of exploring her body. Fuck! How am I going to get this out of my head now? _

As he turned to head back over to the bench, he saw the back of a very large man standing close to it, blocking his view of Bella. Jealousy rummaged through him, replacing his previous thoughts.

As he approached, however, he realized the tall male student was also blocking his view of a girl who was picking up strands of Bella's hair and commenting how the sun brought out a reddish tint in her hair. He smiled because he already knew that detail about her.

"Oh, this is Edward," Bella announced upon seeing him approach. "This is Alice and Felix." Felix put his hand out, but with Edward's hands each holding coffee there was no handshake exchanged.

"Oh, I see we're making friends already." _Good looking friends! _Alice smirked after sizing up Edward. "Hi, I'm Bella's neighbor."

"Nice to meet you both. Did you want coffee?" he offered.

"No, that's okay, thanks." Alice turned back to Bella. "Sorry Bella, I thought you and Angela had the afternoon session," Alice apologized.

"She does. I didn't."

"I would have come to get you." Alice pouted slightly.

"No really, it's no big deal." Bella tried to reassure Alice. Bella wanted to do this with as little help as possible from anyone. Her parents wanted her to wait a semester before she started, but Bella needed to put the distance between her and Mike. She smiled as she looked over at the architecture of the older building that sat diagonal from them—smiling that she's now one of thousands and thousands who will climb those steps and walk through those doors because she belonged here. She remembered adamantly telling her parents, "Harvard_ can't _wait_."_

"Okay Bella, so what time do you need to be there by?" Alice asked.

"Um, tomorrow? By 9 am, but once I start going weekly I think it will be as early as 8 am. Three times a week." Bella looked up warily, anticipating the reply.

"So, can you swing that, Felix?" Alice asked.

Felix's eyes crinkled and he shook his head slightly. "No can do," he said with a sincere regret. "I don't get off the night shift until 7:30 am when I work. I'd never make it."

Edward sipped his coffee tentatively trying to follow along with what they were talking about.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work out," replied Alice. "So we'll have to check the bus schedules. If not, you could always take a cab there. Or maybe you can reschedule to afternoons?"

"To where?" Edward asked wishing he knew what they were talking about so intently.

"Oh! Sorry, Edward. Umm, I need to go to physical therapy at the Holyoke Center starting in two weeks. Alice had suggested that her …_friend_?" Bella glanced to Alice for affirmation, "…could take me because he has a car. But I guess it's not going to work out."

Bella paused trying to accept the paradox of how difficult it would be getting to physical therapy, but if she didn't go, her doctors warned her she'd never make a full recovery. "I was going to take the bus, but it's a bit of a walk just to get to the bus stop. I'll probably just try to figure out cab fare." Bella bit her lip ever so slightly at the reminder of the constant hassle of her broken body.

"I can take you." Edward had offered it up immediately with no regard for his own schedule, to which Alice laughed in return.

"Umm, who are you again?" Alice laughed.

"Edward."

"And you have a car, _Ed_ward?" Alice asked skeptically.

"Thanks, but I can't ask you to do that." Bella adjusted her crutches next to her slightly wondering why Edward hadn't sat down on the bench.

Edward realized he was still holding her coffee. He assumed the spot on the bench next to her, displeased that the crutches created a barrier between them, and handed her coffee over to her. Briefly, their fingertips touched, and he slid his fingers along the tops of hers, securing the cup in her hand. Bella's toes curled in reaction to his touch. She gave him a sweet smile of thanks that he returned back to her before responding to Alice.

"Yes. Not my car from back home but a lease-the gift of generous but worried parents. They thought it was best to have one." He kept his eyes on Bella and added some nonchalance to his tone. "Seriously, if you need a ride in the mornings, it's no problem." He shrugged lightly. "I like to get up in the mornings and run anyway. I can do that while you do your therapy."

"And where is home, Edward?" Alice grilled him.

"West Coast."

"Well that explains the sun-kissed hair. Surfer?" Alice vocally notated, making the assumption he was from California.

"I've tried my hand at paddle boarding from time to time while I was at college."

Bella looked to Alice with wide eyes, both thinking the same thing. _Was he legitimately offering this? Could he be trusted?_

Words fell short between the four of them, until Felix broke the silence.

"When is your first appointment again?" Felix asked Bella, to which she answered, "Tomorrow morning."

"I have off tonight. How about if we _all_ go tomorrow morning with you, find our way there and grab breakfast afterwards. My treat." Felix looked to Alice and with a playful voice asked, "Can you swing that Miss 'thang?"

Edward grimaced, as he realized that he was inconveniently still a stranger to Bella. He was willing to go along with this plan if it was going to make her feel more at ease with accepting his offer. And, making a couple of new friends, especially if they were _her _friends, couldn't hurt.

"Sounds good to me." Edward buried a smirk in his coffee cup.

"Bella?" Felix was waiting for an answer.

A simple solution was right there, Bruno and a pumpkin had turned into her coachman and coach, but Bella wondered why this guy would put himself out there like that. She told herself that he'd probably give her a ride the first week and then find some excuse to get out of it. But having some support for tomorrow's appointment and breakfast afterwards with new friendssounded selfishly good to her. She reminded herself that Mike never ate breakfast. She nodded her head in agreement as she glanced over to Edward.

"Cool. And Miss Bling here is a home-grown local so she can take us around a bit, help us find a decent place for breakfast," Felix added into the mix. "Okay dude, do you want us to meet you somewhere?"

"No, I can pick you guys up."

With that addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, satisfying Edward. He had her number. _Let the courting begin, _he thought in a gentlemanly fashion.

Courting was a good word for Edward, as there were still so many things he had yet to find out from Bella. Things he wasn't prepared for.

~x~

**_A/N:_** **So the neat thing [for a *nice* person like me] about writing flashbacks into a story, is that readers only get a snippet of any given day, and other parts of the day can be revisited in a flashback at a later time. **

**Please pass along my thanks to someone who rec'd my story to you! ~kiTT**


	4. At presentCont'd, 2

**A/N: Such insightful reviews! I didn't respond to a lot of reviews this time because I don't want to give anything away, which I swear I just might in my response—and all of you are so damn keen with your reactions! So I thank you all for reading and reviewing! Whoa, kinda mixed reactions to Felix..LOL...but I loved them all!**

**Thanks again to the loverly TwiWeasel for her help, and for, uhh... slapping me around. You could have just passed me a paper bag to breathe into. LOL **

****Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer's characters and dialogue. No copyright infringement intended.****

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

_~xXx~_

**At present**

_~x~_

**Cont'd…**

She turned her face from him and gazed out in the direction of the hovering sun. The structures that filled the space around her were so rich with tradition. She wanted to just sit and take it all in, but she knew the moments- so filled with expectation-were slipping away.

She was almost ashamed to admit to him that she wanted to say _no, _that her immediate reaction hadn't been in his favor, that she was willing to use her leg or classes as an excuse to hide the pain of her more recent history—a car accident and a breakup with a guy she had dated long-term. Any guy would completely walk away from a girl with that pathetic of a sob story, so recent that maybe it couldn't yet be considered baggage, more like just a mess that surrounded her. Bella hadn't spoken about it with anyone upon arriving, and her biggest fear was that she was going to open her mouth just to answer one simple innocent personal question and the waterworks would begin to flow uncontrollably. No guy likes to see a girl cry like that.

"It's not…It doesn't..," she started and stopped, hesitant to launch into an explanation, finally letting out a heavy_ sigh_.

Edward narrowed his eyes at her. This wasn't going as smoothly as he expected.

~x~

**A/N: I know it's a short chapter. Unlike HCW, I have a lot more room to play around with and fill with writing this, which I'm trying to take advantage of. Once I get past a certain point though, the posting schedule will pick up the pace. **


	5. Breakfast the Next Morning

**_A/N:_ Harvard Can Wait ...til Tuesday! **

**_Thanks to the loverly TwiWeasel for giving this the once over._**

*****Disclaimer: Stepehnie Meyer owns characters and dialogue. No copyright infringement intended. *****

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

_~xXx~_

**_Breakfast the Next Morning _**

_~The day after orientation~_

The next morning, the four new collegiate friends had found their way to Bella's appointment at the Holyoke Center with enough time for Bella to fill out lots of annoying questions on forms before being seen and evaluated.

Afterward, in the car, Alice directed Edward to a small place for breakfast, that was somewhere in between being a café and a diner, while she got Bella to confirm the consultation went well and that she had essentially been cleared to have her cast removed in two weeks.

Having just received good news about her progress, Bella insisted Edward could slide into the booth first, and she would handle her crutches by herself. He didn't mind when he realized she would be sitting next to him after having spent the car ride with Alice in the front seat playing tour guide.

Once their food was ordered and the coffee was served, Edward quickly deposited a sugar packet next to her. Bella thanked him with a sweet smile. As they sipped coffee, they compared notes on their class schedules. Edward remained less vocal about his, as he had a few things to work out in that department.

When they discussed their varied undergraduate education, Alice asked Edward how anyone could leave California for cold, _cold_ New England.

"It's Harvard," Edward shrugged. "I always wanted to come here."

Bella gasped inwardly to hear him say that. For years, that was what she had always thought, how she always wanted to come here. She admired the history of the school and the surrounding area, and looked forward to the prestige that would come from being a student there.

"But how could anyone leave California? I, for one, am completely planning on moving out there someday. I visited LA once and there was such a buzz in the air. I never wanted to leave," Alice reported to them.

Felix laughed at her. "A buzz? Maybe it was just all that Hollywood ass kissing that goes on. You're hot stuff enough to blend in out there, but your heart would always be here."

"You think so, huh?" Alice challenged Felix. "Let's ask Edward."

"Uhh, ask me what?"

"Well, you know, you moved across the country. Is your heart here or still on the West Coast where you grew up?"

"Uhm." Edward swallowed audibly and glanced to Bella as Felix and Alice looked at him expectantly.

Bella's mind had drifted off. She was marveling at how much fun this morning had been. She had no idea what to expect from meeting with a new doctor. Her present company had made that dreaded trip to the appointment so effortless. Now she could look forward to calling her parents to let them know that she handled getting to the appointment and received good news about everything. It was a bit liberating. She felt validated in _her _choice. On top of that, she couldn't remember the last time she had gone to breakfast with friends and laughed this much.

Alice didn't quite know how to read Edward's hesitation, but with her snappy personality, she wasn't one to let a conversation be halted for too long.

"_Ohh_kay." Alice moved on to Bella. "How about you? You moved all the way here from Texas, right?"

Edward opened his mouth to correct Alice then caught himself.

"Arizona," Bella stated matter-of-factly. Bella still had not discussed her recent change in relationship status with anyone. This _heart _question seemed too loaded for her at the moment.

"I think once you get to a certain point in your life you realize it's only ever 50% about where you are…" Bella stopped herself, worried she was going to say something extremely negative.

Edward spoke up at her pause, finishing her sentence. "And 50% about who you are with?"

Bella grinned widely, feeling spared. "Yeah, that works."

"Hmmm," Alice pondered as she pointed her fingers back and forth between Edward and Bella. "Hmmm. You two may be on to something." She turned to Felix. "So when I decide to go off to La La Land and make my mark in this world, I need to make sure I've got the right guy accompanying me." Alice winked at Felix and hummed to herself in satisfaction.

Felix laughed, answering back, "Yeah, one strong enough to carry all of your luggage. Miss Thing may be light and tiny, but I bet she doesn't travel that way!"

Over breakfast, the foursome alternated between seriously discussing their majors and laughing over the quips between Felix and Alice. It was Alice who passed along gossip about various professors, while Felix insisted there was truth to the accounts of ghost hauntings at Widener Library.

"No way!" Alice laughed at Felix. "No. Such. Thing."

"It's true! Books are mysteriously rearranged and fall off the shelves." Felix tried to convince them. "It's all because Harry Widener died on the Titantic. I know that movie makes it seem like all the people who died on that ship are enjoying heaven, but I know that if I died on that ship, after all those promises were made that it _couldn't_ sink, shit, I'd be pissed enough to come back and cause a little mischief, too!"

Bella was especially amused by Felix's ghost rant.

Felix asked where Edward was living, and he explained he was renting a small two bedroom house.

"I actually should be looking for a roommate to share expenses with," Edward replied.

"Male _or female_, right dude?" Felix asked with a raise of his eyebrows, to which Alice elbowed him.

"Yeah, either or," he answered thinking how he'd leave the door open for Bella to move in at any time. "So if you know of anyone, let me know," he added.

_~x~_

**A/N: Move in with Edward? Can you imagine? He's not just reserving a room for Bella. He's reserving an entire space in his life that he desperately wants to share with her! Does Bella have any idea?**

**Do you follow the TheGISeriesFans on twitter? They recently posted a couple of lovely pictures of a deocrated-with-lights, snow-covered Harvard Yard with benches. ;) Very pretty and worth checking out. **

**thanks for reading! See you soon. :) **


	6. At presentCont'd, 3

**A/N: Wishing you all happy holidays! Let's get through the next week or two and then the TwiWeasel and I will come back to BAM like Tone Loc on this story! **

**Raise your spiked eggnog! *Cheers***

***Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and dialogue. No copyright infringement intended.***

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At present**

_~x~_

**Cont'd...**

Despite all of it, Bella knew why she suddenly changed her mind, ultimately agreeing to get coffee with Edward that day.

It wasn't anything in particular that he had said.

It wasn't the way his fingers came up to his forehead nervously - and often - to swipe strands of his sun-kissed hair off to the side.

It wasn't even the bit of humor he had added to her already hectic morning.

But opening up about it?

She was sure that most people would think she was _crazy_.

_~x~_

**A/N:** **Well that should definitely clear some things up for you guys. ;)**

Recently I went through all of the reviews that you guys left along the way of the original story, **Harvard Can Wait**. If you need just a lighthearted laugh, click on the reviews and go read through them all. From the theories to reactions at the twists to tears to just surrendering to the story-your words were just priceless and going through them all made me laugh.

**This one cracks me! After Carlisle refers to being down in the ER, the Dead on Arrivals, and the unfortunate timing of the daughter of Charlie and Renee being in the area that day.**

**posted by karliux, chapter 15**

Charlie and Renees daughter's name in this story better be Alice, Rosalie, Jessica or Angela!

**Enjoy your holidays! See you soon! **

psst: PT doesn't start for 2 weeks, but Edward _needs_ to see Bella sooner than that. Will he just happen to run into her *wink* or find a different excuse to see her? Well he does have that house all to himself...


	7. In the Interim

**A/N: Happy New Year! ****I know what you're gonna say! You've missed me. I've missed you. Let's not make a big deal over it. :) Oh, you were just going to tell me to wear matching socks? Okay. Good tip. #AFewGoodMen scene. **

**This time last year things were already rolling with HCW! So it feels like old times but with _more_ friends! And some of you are so on to me! I know there was some question about a certain dirty blonde guy showing up in Alice's life. Well, it just so happens in this chapter, there is...**

**Thanks a million to the loverly TwiWeasel for all her help. I'm paying her in meatballs. Put out your hand, dearie! We'll rap later!**

*****Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns characters and dialogue. No copyright infringement intended.*****

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

~xXx~

_**In the interim**_

~x~

Bella called her mom the next day to tell her about the appointment.

"Well I'm relieved to hear all that Bella. Your father and I pray every single day that you are going to make a full recovery. We worry about you, sweetie. How are you managing getting around?"

"So far, for campus, I've just had to give myself extra time to get to classes, Mom. And the professors have been amazingly understanding. So you guys don't need to worry. As for starting physical therapy, umm, I've made a few friends here, and one of them has offered to drive me to my sessions."

"Really Bells? Well that is wonderful. You know your Dad and I had been thinking of moving out there for a few weeks just to help out."

"No, no" Bella shook her head. "I mean, no, Mom. You guys don't want to do that. My friend has his own car, so I think I'll be fine."

"His?" Renee took an obvious pause, which Bella noticed. "_His_ own car?" she questioned.

"Uhh, yeah, _his_ name is Edward. Do you think I should ask him for his license so Daddy can run a check on him?"

"Edward?" Bella's mom said with surprise.

Mrs. Swan paused, again. Of course it had to be _that _Edward, right? She smiled at the thought, suddenly comforted. She had accepted her old friend Esme's explanation that Edward was still under the effects of the morphine when he had indicated in the hospital that he and Bella had kept in touch over the years, but Esme insisted that her son _had_ felt a special enough connection to Bella and did hope to get to know her at Harvard. While neither objected to the idea of their offspring becoming involved, the two mothers had agreed not to interfere by trying to influence the situation.

"Uh, no sweetie, I don't think that'll be necessary. Edward sounds like a good strong traditional name. A lot like Charles. Is there something between you and him?"

Bella laughed at her mom. "No mom, I just have made some friends here. It feels…very different from a few months ago, but very _normal._"

"And what about Mike? Have you heard from him at all?"

"No. He hasn't returned any of my calls." Bella's voice dropped slightly then recovered, more strongly. "But I _know _I did the right thing. I had made him my world, Mom, without it ever feeling like I was his world."

"Well your daddy is my world, Bella, but we've always told you that the commitment of marriage needs to come from a special place. With every fiber of your being you need to be sure of the guy."

"I know, Mom," Bella said quietly. "And…and I do truly believe that. Now anyway. I wouldn't have broken things off with Mike, if I didn't. And, who knows, maybe I'll have that someday with someone."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that. It'll happen when the time is right."

_Oh, that typical motherly advice,_ Bella thought. "For now I just want to concentrate on my studies and walking. Tell Daddy, that I'm so glad I'm here."

Bella hung up from the conversation and thought, _how weird, _that her mom was so nonchalant about her getting a ride with a guy when they had warned her about keeping her guard up and how extra careful she would need to be now that she would be completely on her own. Bella brushed it off that at some point her parents decided they didn't like Mike as much as she had thought they did. Except for the fact that she was going off to Harvard essentially with a handicap, they seemed thrilled with her decision to further her education, even if it was miles away from them at a time when they thought she needed their help the most.

~x~

At the end of the week, Bella's roommate, Angela, had returned home with two Chai Tea Lattes in her hands and a heavy messenger bag full of books. She had just been to the campus store before hitting the coffee bar and returning home. She greeted Alice, who was over hanging out with Bella, with an apology.

"Alice! Sorry I didn't know you'd be over or I would have gotten you one."

"No worries. I'm good."

Bella accepted her drink with a _thank you_ and a deep inhale of her spicy hot beverage. "Mmmm…"

"Well I'm glad you're here because…_ugh_," Angela dropped her bag down; it landed with a _clunk _on their condo's beige ceramic tiled area of flooring. "Tell me something," Angela started, sounding annoyed. "What's worse than running into a majorly hot guy with a girl attached to him so that you know he's completely unavailable?"

"Oh, I _hate_ that! But there are plenty of things worse than that in this world, I suppose, so what specifically?" Alice teased.

"Okay. So I'm in line at the Coop, you know, the store. It's my turn, and I put all these books on the counter."

"Right, go on…" Bella encouraged winking over at Alice, anticipating her roommate to become more and more animated as she told her story.

"And I realize the cashier is not paying even one bit of attention so I say 'Uhh, _hello_' and she snaps her head back and tells me how she couldn't help watching this guy she had just rung up a few minutes ago. And she nods her head over. You know, like this," Angela tilted her head to show the girls. "And yeah, I look and see who she's talking about and hello, he's like crazy beautiful! He's got just the right amount of scruff, ya know? And he's wearing a blue t-shirt on over a grey thermal but the sleeves don't do anything to hide his biceps." Angela cupped her hand like a claw and shook it slightly by her own arm.

Alice laughed as she looked to Bella. "Oh, I think we get the picture!"

"He must not have thought anyone was watching him because he's on the phone and at one point he leans it against his ear, sticks the pen he's holding into his mouth so it's just dangling there, like a cigarette, and checks the zipper of his jeans."

"No!" Alice whined, as Bella giggled. "Come on!"

"I know, right?" Angela agreed and continued. "His hair has all these strands of, I don't know, like streaks of pennies through it. So, me and cashier-lady are just standing there full out drooling over Ivy League McDreamy! Or should it be Harvard McSteamy? Whatever you want to call him. Then, we overhear him on the phone gushing about how in love he's been with some girl all his life."

"Oooh, burn! That does suck!" Alice returned.

Bella had been following along, until her thoughts took a detour to Mike. She wondered what he must think of her right now. Their 'breakup' had been brief, and in a very childish way he wouldn't take her calls. She didn't want him to hate her, but she just needed to explain to him that now that she was here at Harvard, she knew more than ever that this was exactly where she was supposed to be. She looked forward to her days of going to class and even staying up late to write her thesis. She couldn't help but to think of learning and pursuing a career as exciting in comparison to the monotony of waking every morning to open shop to the likes of fisherman and hunters in the Pacific Northwest.

Angela waved Alice off, and the motion of her hand snapped Bella out of her thoughts and brought her back to the conversation.

"Yeah, it sucks to be me, huh? Whatever, it doesn't matter. He was _way _out of my league anyway. It's romantic though. We could tell he wasn't talking to the girl, it's more like he was confiding in someone about his love for his ex-girlfriend. The cashier and I both gave each other a little knowing 'awe' face when we heard him say he was looking forward to a reunion because he was positive he was more in love with her today than he's ever been."

"Lucky girl," Alice declared, to which the girls agreed with a sigh.

Bella's thoughts again traveled to Mike. She couldn't help but think, _What if Mike feels that way about me? _

Alice went on to tell the current details of her love life, explaining that she works at a local coffee house, Tru Grounds, and a newly regular customer seems to give her extra attention and big tips, so maybe she would fit in a date with him in between Riley and Felix, two guys she seemed perfectly happy to see simultaneously, insisting that when she juggles more than one guy at a time she only sleeps with one of them. When the temptation to sleep with another gets to be too much, that is when she breaks it off with the first guy. It all made a lot of sense to hear her explain it.

"But Alice how do you know so many guys already?" Angela wondered.

"Felix? He works security overnight for one of the stores a few streets over from the coffee house and he always used to stop in and get a large coffee to go from us before his shift. I thought he was just a guy out in the working world but this summer he mentioned school was starting soon. That's when I found out he was going to graduate studies, just like I was."

"How much do you like him?" Bella asked.

"I don't know yet. But I do know that the first time he invited me over to his place, he had kicked his two roommates out and cooked penne vodka for me. It was _excellente_." Alice pinched two fingers to her lips indicating her satisfaction.

"Mmmm, I love penne vodka. What about the other guy?" Angela asked. "What's his story? Does he cook, too?"

"Riley? I don't know yet, but I doubt it. I'm not sure he's ever had to make himself a meal. I've only been to a couple of house parties with him in these rich neighborhoods. Felix is so responsible and steady. Riley is…" Alice smirked, "spontaneous with a bit of bad boy to him. I happen to like that in a guy."

Angela was single and declared that she and Bella would be going to check out the local night life before their respective classes became too cumbersome to allow time for fun. Alice whined that she should have been a bartender instead of a waitress because she usually had to work weekend nights, but she offered that her coffee shop was open later than the bars so the girls could stop in to visit her even late.

"So Bella, tell us. What do you think of Edward?" Alice leaned across the kitchen bar and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Are you all comfortable with him enough to let him take you to physical therapy alone?"

"I think so," Bella said as she took a sip of her drink, "though I haven't heard from him. What did Felix think of him?"

"He thinks he's fine. Likes his car. He said the back seat was roomy enough for him." Alice snickered. "Nothing wrong with a roomy back seat, if you ask me! I doubt a mass murderer is going to be driving around in a shiny silver four-door sedan Volvo."

The girls laughed. "Angela, have I mentioned how cute _this_ guy is?" Alice glanced over at Bella. "Not that Bella here noticed."

"Ooh, when do I get to meet him?" Angela squealed.

"Oh that is so not true!" Bella pleaded. "He's gorgeous, especially his eyes." Bella involuntarily shivered at the thought. "I have no idea why he's being so nice to me!"

Angela rolled her eyes. "I think it's obvious. Damsel. Distress. Blah, blah, blah. But don't go falling in love with this guy before we get a chance to go out together as single girls."

"Pish posh! Don't you dare pass up the chance to have a little fun with him!" Alice contradicted, adding in as she side-eyed Angela, "I know I wouldn't."

Angela looked at Alice questioningly.

Alice laughed slightly before asking, What? That Edward is hot! And kind of funny. I bet he's got a little bad-boy streak in him, too."

"I'm not even going to have _that _opportunity! I insisted to pay him for his time, but he told me _no_, that he was going to report back to his parents he was doing community service or something. Then, when I told him that I wouldn't accept his rides if he didn't take at least some money from me, he quickly changed his mind and said he was accepting it as gas money. So it's all fair, just...a service he's providing."

Alice laughed adding in a little quip about how well he could service _her._

Bella thought it over for a minute. She hadn't heard from him all week. Should she have expected to? Physical therapy was still over a week away.

"What is it?" Angela asked, in reaction to the sudden pained look on Bella's face.

"What if he backs out? Or it doesn't work out?" Bella expressed her worry.

"Then we'll take shifts to make sure you get there," Alice reassured her, nodding her head at Angela. "And Felix can still drive you on mornings he hasn't worked the night before. Or who knows, maybe one of these days, he'll let me start borrowing his car."

"Yeah, don't worry Bella. It'll work out," Angela comforted her.

"And Felix and I will go with you to have your cast removed next week."

Angela and Alice hugged Bella. "You guys are the best." Bella felt incredibly grateful to have made such terrific friends so quickly so far away from home. _She almost missed out on this, _she had told herself. _What else would she have missed out on if she hadn't decided to go to Harvard?_

"Hey! I just remembered. I'm off tonight. Let's go out!" Alice said with excitement.

**~x~**

Edward had spent the week rearranging his schedule. He had to get special permission to get out of the one class he was scheduled to take twice a week that started at 8 am, but he told himself he would have changed his whole major if he needed to, just to be the one to see Bella to physical therapy every week, not just to get to spend time with her, but also because he felt responsible for her. He wanted to be the one to look after her, to care for her, to make sure she got healed.

On Saturday morning, as he picked up some groceries at the local supermarket, he had to remind himself, _One week down, one week to go. _

He could make it without seeing her. He had already gotten through a few weeks of not seeing her. _Hell_, he'd spent most of his life without her.

_Most of his life, which included lonely high school days out in the meadow and drunken hookups in college that he regretted. _

Those past couple of weeks leading up to his arrival at Harvard had been agonizing. He _needed_ to find a way to be with her_. _He had already spent way too much time without her. What was he waiting for?

He returned to his current housing with two bags of necessities. The New England cottage-style house was suitable enough for college living but bare - a window-lit foyer upon entry with a mud room to the left containing a stackable white washer and dryer while a small kitchen sat off to the right. A hallway led to a living room before it continued on to one bathroom and two bedrooms in the rear of the house.

As he opened cabinets and put his canned groceries away, he concentrated more and more on what he was missing.

Walking into his bedroom and looking around, he couldn't help but be reminded about what he needed.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and began to text Bella.

**Hi. It's Edward. Are you busy?**

Edward fell backwards onto his bed, rippling the sheet below him, and stared at his phone, hoping for an immediate reply.

After two hours of no response, he finally decided to call her, for the first time.

As he typed her name into his phone, the rate of his heart beating sped up - half nervous and half excited- in anticipating her reaction to him as he hit the green call button.

"_Yeah?_ Hello," a man's voice answered hastily.

~x~

**A/N: You have questions? You want answers? Good! that's just the way we like things around here...**

**Bella's world certainly has expanded, hasn't it?**


	8. Hold the Phone

**A/N: So the first _intended_ use of a Twilight quote was in the last chapter. Who saw it? Remember, I like to give other characters someone else's lines sometimes just to make things fun! **

**Thanks to the loverly, more-mature-in-years-as-of-two-days-ago, TwiWeasel for looking over this chapter! Happy Birthday!**

**Dislcaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, characters, and dialogue. In some chapters it is also good to give Melissa Rosenberg and Will Fetters their due as I incorporate quotes. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Hold the Phone**

~x~

Edward's nerves abruptly subsided, confusion taking over the space. _What the hell? _Had she given him the wrong number?

"Uh, I was trying to reach Bella?"

"Cute brunette? On crutches?" The man's voice was raspy with a heavy Bostonian accent, and Edward could hear him exhaling the smoke of a cigarette. _Who _was_ this guy? _

"Yeah, that's her." Edward's words slowed. "Is she there..." His voice cracked - the tone swirled heavily in the air around him afraid to ask the question, afraid to hear the answer. "With you?"

"She visited my establishment last night and left her phone here. Your name came up when the phone rang. Guess she's a friend of yours?"

"Yeah." Relief sailed through Edward. "I could come pick it up to take to her as a matter of fact."

With that, the voice on the other end of the phone gave the address of his bar and said he'd be there to open it in a half an hour.

Edward had the phone and was on his way to Bella's condo, hoping she'd be there. Obviously, he couldn't call to say he would be arriving soon. Now he could see her reaction to him in person.

He knocked on the door and waited patiently.

"Who is it?" Her voice called out.

"Edward." His fingers went through his hair, tugging and pulling strands back. _Fuckin' nerves, settle down. _"Uh, Cullen?" He scrubbed his face and realized he should have shaved a bit closer this morning.

"Oh! Just a minute."

He listened to the clicking of the deadbolt being turned and the slow turn of the brushed nickel knob until the door opened a crack, as Bella peeked through to confirm it was him.

He was unsure of her reaction until he saw her smile, and the door opened further.

"Edward?" She turned her chin slightly, looking confused. That cute wrinkle above her nose appeared. "Did…Were we supposed…" She shifted her weight to her good leg and used her crutch to push the door all the way open.

Edward held up her phone. "Missing something?"

"Wait. Is that mine?" She secured her crutch with her left hand as her right hand reached out for the phone. "Where did you…"

"I tried calling you a little bit ago and instead this guy answered your phone. It turns out he owns the bar you were drinking at last night. So I swung by and picked it up for you."

Bella laughed. "Oh my God! I could hug you!"

"Hug away." He smirked, as she took the phone from him and held his arms out -but downward -his palms facing out, unsure if she would follow through with her threat.

Bella laughed more. With that she leaned toward him, wrapping her right arm slightly around his back. "You're a lifesaver," she told him.

Edward wasn't expecting _this_ kind of a reaction—physical contact. It was over way too soon, but not before he got a chance to inhale her strawberry-scented hair, as some of it softly swiped across his cheek, and he had placed his hands on the sides of her lower back.

"Here. Come in." She had released him and put out her hand inviting him to enter the condo. "We went to a few different places last night. I didn't even know where I left my phone. I just know that I'm one of those people that can be really bad with my phone. Having to juggle crutches too? Ugh, doesn't help." She giggled.

As he stepped inside, he was surprised at how homey it was-a bright kitchen area with a black granite breakfast bar and bar stools that overlooked the living room-while his house felt like just a rented space, which reminded him…

"Hope you didn't go to any trouble. I so owe you!" Her smile to him was sweet. She couldn't believe he did this for her.

"No trouble. But maybe you can return the favor now, actually. I tried calling you earlier because I was looking around my house and I realized that I needed… _things_."

"Please, sit." Bella directed him to the couch. "What kind of things?"

"Um, this is embarrassing. Well, you know…I'm a guy." He sat down on the dark gray microfiber couch, while she leaned against the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living room.

"Yes. You're a guy." She giggled at him.

"And so, by nature, I'm…" He squinted his eyes and flopped his head from side to side looking for the right words but not wanting to sell himself short, "domestically challenged? Well, not in all ways…" he smirked.

Bella burst out laughing then covered her mouth. "Sorry."

"I need to buy supplies for my house and basically have no clue where to start. I was hoping _you_ could help me...?"

"Oh, sure. Like what kind of stuff?"

Edward shrugged and rubbed the fabric of the couch with his hands nervously. "Everything?" he chuckled. "I bought canned goods at the grocery store this morning but couldn't find a can opener in my kitchen drawers. I brought sheets with me from home but they don't seem to fit on my bed."

"Why? What size bed do you have?"

"Uh…_large_?" He threw the word out there having no real idea what the answer to that question was, so he wasn't surprised when Bella laughed at him.

"There's not really a large size when it comes to beds. It's twin, full, queen, or king," Bella explained gesturing with her hands with each choice.

"See, I don't know this kind of stuff. How are guys supposed to know? Think you could help a pathetic guy like me out and go shopping with me today?"

"I think I could do that. You're not in a hurry though, are you, because these things," Bella shook her crutches, "really slow me down."

Edward mischievously smiled at her. "We can take it slow."

Bella narrowed her eyes at him about to ask a question then shook it off. Alice was right. Edward _was_ kind of funny. She scribbled a note on a piece of paper and left it on the kitchen counter. "Follow me," she told him, "but be quiet because my roommate is still sleeping. She drank waaaay more than I did last night."

Edward stood up from the couch. "Follow you to where?" he asked confused.

"To my bed," she answered matter of factly, like he shouldn't have needed to ask the question.

Edward faltered slightly, his foot catching the leg of the coffee table at those words. He thought he heard her say she was taking him to bed. But with the cast still on, that wasn't really plausible.

Or was it?_ Did she remember something between them? _

"Your bed?" he gulped. _Because we're going to take it slow but be quiet because your roommate is sleeping across the hall…in your bed?_

"Yeah," she said adamantly, "so I can help you figure out what size sheets you need."

"Right. The sheets. Of course." Edward mentally slapped himself at his lascivious thoughts.

Bella led him down the hall to her bedroom; opening the door, she paused to plug her phone in before asking him what he thought.

"It's a nice, uh, room. These condos are deceivingly big."

"Thanks, but I mean the bed. What do you think?"

_What…what do I think? Do I get to try it out? I think…I think…oh fuck me, Cullen._

"I think it's… it…it…it looks comfortable...?_" _It felt like another answer he was just throwing out there.

Bella laughed. "It is. This is a full-sized bed. So how does it compare to your bed?"

"Ummm…I'd say yours is smaller." He approached her bed and leaned down putting his hand out a couple of inches from the bed trying to imagine how much bigger his seemed in comparison.

"So is your bed for one person or two?" Bella asked, suddenly wondering if Edward was sharing his bed with anyone.

"Definitely for two people," Edward confirmed. "I mean, it's just me sleeping in it right now, but I'm hoping that will change soon. Very soon, actually."

Edward flashed a smile to Bella, seeking to embarrass her, but Bella didn't seem affected at all because to Bella, her current state of brokenness left her feeling entirely unappealing. She figured Edward was just going to be one of those guys that liked to make his sexual prowess known.

"Yes, well, if that's the case then you'll really want to impress your overnight guests with the right-sized bedding." She smirked at him before letting him off the hook. "It sounds like you just need queen sheets. Why don't we hit a couple of stores, and I'll make a list of things you need on the way," Bella said grabbing a notepad from her desk.

"Sounds good," Edward agreed. He took the time to glance out her window, where he could see the parking lot below.

Bella grabbed her phone, unplugging it, and throwing it in her purse before motioning for him to exit her room. _Maybe she could finish charging her phone in his car. _She locked her bedroom door and pulled it closed behind her, placing a finger to her lips to remind him to walk quietly. They were off to spend a few hours shopping, and she was happy with the chance to pick up a few things for herself.

~x~

On their way back to her condo, they stopped so he could treat her to an ice cream cone and maybe try to find out how many guys hit on her at the bar last night.

Bella was serious when she answered, "A lot, if you count drunk guys saying, _'Whoa, what happened to you?_' but not really sticking around for the answer, as being _hit on_."

Edward didn't hide his satisfactory smile in hearing this but decided to press the moment as they leaned against the outdoor ice cream bar.

"So what _did_ happen to you?"

Bella licked her cone and went to a place of inner vulnerability. She wasn't ready to talk about it.

"You know, I'd really enjoy this ice cream more if I didn't have to talk so much about me right now. Want to try this?" she asked sweetly holding her cone out to him. "It's really good."

He looked at her with a quiet amazement. Bella Swan at Harvard could be unexpectedly different than she was in their dream, and then in a moment like this, her approach to the situation was exactly like he knew her to be in the meadow. The way she handled conversation. The way she could adapt so quickly. Just like when she took off that coat she was wearing the day he had his guitar in the meadow. He'd be lying if he'd said that there hadn't been a part of him that worried that her personality - the Bella persona he had fallen love with in the meadow - might be different in the real world, but here, over ice cream, he relaxed as he clearly recognized the traits of the girl he fell in love with in the meadow.

His hand reached out to wrap around hers, steadying the ice cream cone and bringing it up closer to his mouth. He pulled his lips inward once and released them. His tongue darted out, licking his lips, before it met her cold, smooth, soft chocolate ice cream.

Bella's eyes followed his tongue as it reached her cone and slowly ran a zig-zag through bright rainbow-colored sprinkles from the bottom of the cone up to the top.

"Mmmmm…" He smirked, bringing his thumb to the corner of his lips and moving a few sprinkles along into his mouth.

"Want to try, Bella?"

Her body shuddered. All through her. [_Eating ice cream will cause that to happen._]

Edward took her body's movement as a _yes, _taking his thumb from his mouth and dipping it into his ice cream, collecting a dab on just the tip.

"Close your mouth," he whispered, to which Bella automatically released the lip she hadn't realized she was biting and allowed her lips to come together as she hazily tilted her chin up toward him.

He brought his thumb up and smeared a trail across her now-closed mouth, coating her lips with soft, cold vanilla goodness. Still steadying his hand over hers, Edward pulled her cone aside so it was no longer an obstacle directly in between them before quickly lowering his head down to hers, watching as her tongue emerged to first lick the corner of her mouth, and then temptingly glided its way across her upper lip. He hovered over her yearningly before deciding the ice cream on her bottom lip was his.

Without hesitation, he leaned down and claimed her bottom lip in his mouth, taking her by surprise, as he sucked down the creaminess first and continued on to full-out kiss her, the taste of each's ice cream meeting as their tongues twisted together. He let go of his hold on her cone to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her snuggly against his hard torso.

"Bella..._Bella?_ Did you want to try my vanilla ice cream?"

He stood before her with his cone tilted toward her, temptingly swaying it back and forth in front of her gazing eyes.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head to clear away the little fantasy that had just played out in her mind, taking such a strong hold over her. He took her gesture to mean _no. _

"Suit yourself. Yours tasted better than mine, anyway. I should have gone with both. What'd the guy call getting both?"

"A twist," a still wide-eyed Bella gulped as she averted her eyes and went back to working on her cone.

~x~

Edward's shopping excursion was successful in two ways.

First, Bella gained a deeper sense of trust and familiarity with Edward. The ease of talking to him, and being with him in general, really lessened the awkwardness of crutches and a broken leg.

Second, Edward succeeded in getting more time with her—seeing her laugh and seeing her mind work.

_And_ he a got hug.

After dropping her off, Edward returned home with bags of items he had allowed Bella to deem as _necessities_ for him. He called his Dad to update him on Bella's progress, as he promised to do.

Carlisle was ecstatic to hear that Bella's healing was going as hoped and reiterated to Edward how necessary her physical therapy would be in the healing process. Edward explained that he was going to personally be seeing to it that she was going through the proper rehabilitation.

"And what about mentally, Edward, how is she?"

"She doesn't remember any of it, Dad. She doesn't look into my face and see who I really am," Edward confided in him. "How come I do and she doesn't?"

"Edward, I can't answer that. It's a metaphysical realm that's been documented but not proven in medical terms. I've been doing some reading up on it. Some memories are just triggered while others are recovered under hypnosis. What I do know is that at this stage, the most important matter is her getting her body healed and properly rehabbed. Maybe once the body as a whole is rehabilitated and realigned, then some of those experiences that you think you two shared will come back to her. I really can't make any guarantees, but I do know that you should keep your expectations low for now. You can't push her."

"I know, Dad. You've already given me that speech, remember? You and Mom, both. I'm not going to do anything to derail her progress."

"That's good to hear son. But that's not to say that in some ways you won't be able to encourage the memories, if she has them to be accessed, the way you think she does."

"She has them, Dad. Deep down, they're there. Don't be a prick, Dad. I thought you believed me!"

"I do believe you. I believe _you _believe in these memories. And if that is the case, well then, you need to wait for them to surface. But in the meantime, live your life. She's not the only reason you're at Harvard. You need to take every opportunity while you're there."

Edward rolled his eyes slightly at his Dad giving him a half-hearted, "I am."

"And how's the car? I know we went back and forth on what to choose that morning. Safety verses something sporty."

"It's working out great, Dad."

"Well it should be, it's a damn expensive car." With that, Edward could hear Dr. Cullen's beeper going off. "Listen Edward, I have to attend to a patient. I'll let your mother know you called, but you should really take some time to call her yourself."

"Bye Dad." _Why did he have to be so _Dad_?_

About twenty minutes after Edward hung up the phone, he received a text from his mom.

**Your Dad is going to request copies of Bella's progress notes from therapy to be faxed to him weekly. **

**Really? **Edward texted back.

**Yes. He wants to keep tabs on her progress. **

Edward suddenly felt guilty. He could just hear his dad, _I know you think I'm a prick, but I have my usefulness._

**Ok Mom. Call you soon! Promise.**

Edward then shot a text off to Bella.

**Thanks for helping a guy out with domestic issues. :/**

This time, Bella quickly responded to him.

**Thanks for retrieving my phone. :)**

Edward decided to confirm their next meeting.

**See you next Monday morning?**

Bella answered.

**Yep, with my cast off finally. **

He thought of her cast, she had explained her plans to have Felix and Alice take her for the occasion. He wasn't going to push wanting to be there, too.

**See you then. But if you need anything before then call.**

~x~

A/N: Pfffft...who did you think was on the phone?

Who wants to help domesticate Edward?


	9. At presentCont'd, 4

**A/N: This is the second update of today, just in case you clicked the 2nd alert first!**

**Thanks to the loverly TwiWeasel for betaing!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight characters and dialogue belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. **

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At present**

~x~

**Cont'd**

Bella looked down at her wrist, still encapsulated in his grasp. It wasn't causing her pain, but she wasn't sure if he realized the increased amount of pressure he was placing on her.

"Edward, it's time to let go."

He loosened his grip before asking her desperately, "What if I'm not ready?"

~x~

**A/N: _Okay_...that was short. **

**As always, thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope you want more. **

Here are a few recommendations for your reading pleasure:

TwiWeasel _Happy Birthday, Baby (A ExJ slash one shot)_

_ s/8671907/1/Happy-Birthday-Baby_

NaughtyLaureate _A Little Motivation (Just started ExB)_

_ u/4354403/NaughtyLaureate_

Pervy Twins _Drunk on You (Complete, I believe ExB)_

_ s/8283225/1/Drunk-on-You_


	10. Planned Deja vu

**A/N: Thank you, again for all the kind notes you leave me. It's wonderful to have fans/followers/friends that are so encouraging of this story. And I'd love to post the whole story to share with everyone today, but that would rob me of the process that I'm enjoying so much. **

**I'm not going to apologize for the little ice cream fantasy or that I may have a habit of conjuring up some familiar pictures of Rob as you go along...paddleboarding, the zipper check, the thumb at the corner of his mouth, tongue pics...but I will pre-emptively apologize for use of a Twiquote in this chapter that some of you may be saying, "kiTT! I can't believe you went there!" Umm, **_yeah_**, my love of twilight quotes knows no boundaries. Even the bad quotes have some usefulness. Even the Jacob quotes are going to show up! **

**Thanks to TwiWeasel for red-penning this! This chapter was a big page of AWKWARD before she helped me through it! ;) **

**Disclaimer: Characters and dialogue belong to Stephenie Meyer, Melissa Rosenberg, and Rob. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Planned Deja vu**

~x~

Bella's cast had been off for five weeks, and her time in physical therapy was almost over. Fall in New England was brimming with cooler temperatures, windy days that threw leaves around, jackets, and pumpkin spice goodies. Bella and Angela had become fast friends with each other and with their neighbor, Alice. Angela signed up for a study group that met Saturday nights, so Alice had convinced Bella to come spend at least part of her Saturday nights keeping her company at the coffee house, where she usually worked weekends.

Felix and Alice had taken Bella the day her cast needed to be removed. Since then, Edward had continued to take her to every physical therapy session, always arriving promptly to pick her up. He even offered to take her anywhere else she may need to stop on their way home, though she hadn't taken him up on his offer. Bella was still resolved to do things on her own as much as possible.

Three weeks ago, as she was thanking Edward for driving her with a payment of gas money - per their agreement - she nonchalantly extended an invitation for him to meet her at the coffee house on Saturday night so she would have someone to talk to in between the times Alice stopped by to wait on her table. She thought she was coaxing him with the promise of seeing her singing along, albeit badly, to the music played by the open mic artists. The coffee house became his Saturday night ritual.

Edward usually stayed friendly and lighthearted during the weekday mornings—dropping Bella off for therapy while he took a run along the perimeter of the center. But on Saturday nights, when he met up with them at the coffee house, Bella couldn't help but feel like he took opportunity to flirt with her periodically as they watched the open mic acts. A makeshift stage was set up in the back corner of the space on Friday and Saturday nights, and Edward liked to joke that he played guitar better than whomever was up on the stage.

Bella took a deep breath as she got into the car after Friday morning's session, feeling extremely grateful that despite how broken she still felt, the therapist assured her she was doing well. With her body almost back to normal, she tried to convince herself that she had started to rebuild this nice _situation _[_some might call it a social life_] around classes.

"Do you still have a late class this afternoon?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, it's not 'til three."

"Wanna be all crazy and stop at that park we always go by? I went running there the other morning, and I thought maybe you'd like the foliage there."

"Foliage?" Bella giggled. "Sure, I'm always up for _foliage_."

Edward rolled his eyes at her. "What's wrong with using that word?"

"Nothing. You're so…so…"

"Yes?" Edward tilted his head to one side and cracked that crooked smile Bella had become accustomed to, hoping for a compliment.

Bella looked him up and down in his dark charcoal grey coat over his heather grey turtleneck sweater.

"Harvard," Bella said, as she reached out and pulled at the lapel of his coat and laughed.

"Maybe I am," he smirked at her assessment of him, looking down at his clothes, then back over to her.

It's wasn't what he'd expected her to say, though Bella's words and actions seldom were what he expected. Her laugh was driving him crazy. It _had_ been driving him crazy, and yet he found himself trying to make her laugh as much as possible. He had been driving her back and forth to physical therapy at the Holyoke Center for five weeks now, and each time the car came to rest in the parking position, he had a natural inclination to unbuckle his seatbelt and lean over to kiss her.

He kept hearing the cautionary words of his mom and dad telling him to take things slow and not to push Bella for answers - not to do anything so aggressive that it scares her off. But – _he groaned internally thinking about it_ - that perfume she wore was sweet and flowery, always reminding him of the scents in the meadow, so much so that he unexpectedly found himself jerking off in his car Wednesday afternoon after dropping her off. He needed the release. The memory of making love to her in the meadow was still so vivid, but without being able to share that experience with her now, it haunted him. He constantly doubted if it was real or not. Then, there were the negative thoughts he persistently had to fight off, the ones that repeatedly told him she'd never give him the chance in real life.

It had been five _long_ weeks of being alone with her in the car three times a week, and he strategically chose today to, well maybe not 'push' so much, as 'instigate' her memories, suggesting the park for a seemingly spur-of-the-moment outing.

Since that day with the ice cream, Edward had been careful to always keep the conversation between them light and fun, never once delving into her past beyond them mentioning where they had gone to undergraduate school. Bella would have thought it was odd if it didn't feel like such a weight lifted off her shoulders when she was with him. He didn't seem to mind if she jabbered on about her classes or professors while in the car. She reminded herself how Mike would have only listened to her go on about classes for a minute before telling her to just forget about 'that type of thing' while they were together. Mike had a way of acknowledging her words as important _to her,_ then quickly dismissing them as relating to matters she needed to deal with on her own time and not allow them to trespass on _his_ time with her.

The path off the road into the park was winding and veered off to the right into a parking lot. _This was his chance, _he thought as he parked the car. His father had talked to him about encouraging the return of Bella's memories. He'd wanted to try this form of _encouragement _over the past few weeks, but he had waited until today, knowing he only had one more week left of driving her to therapy.

Edward had already set a precedent for helping her out of the car, always smiling to himself whenever their pinkies had opportunity to brush up against each other as he helped her stand.

"You know I'm really supposed to be rehabbed enough that I don't need help transitioning out of a car anymore," Bella told him just as their hands released from each other.

"Oh? _Oh!_ Uh, _sorry_? I know you're not helpless or anything." He laughed at her misunderstanding of his intentions. "Uhh, you can just think of me as your chauffer then."

Edward retrieved a blanket from his car's trunk as well as a cooler, hoping he saved himself with his words.

"What's in there?" Bella asked at the sight of his cooler. _Does he a__lways carry a cooler around? He seems awfully prepared for this. _

"Just a few sodas." He slung the blanket over his shoulders. "C'mon _Harvard_, let's go admire the _foliage_."

He didn't make her walk too far before he had found a nice spot away from other families and students set up in the park. "Is here good?"

"Yeah, fine with me."

He spread out the blanket and waited for her to sit before opening the cooler. "Coke or Coors?" he asked.

Bella laughed. "I doubt you're supposed to have beer here."

"I doubt anyone really cares." He popped open the beer tab on the can, ready to take a swig then stopping it just before the can's rim reached his mouth. The can lingered in the air just below his lips as he glanced over at her. "Unless, you mind?"

"Not me. I think it's a little early for beer, though, so I'll just have a Coke. It's really very pretty here," Bella said as she took the time to admire the splendor of Fall bristling around her. "I've seen so many pictures in magazines of the outdoors in New England. I always wanted to be at Harvard this time of year all and see it like this."

"And now you're here." Edward took a large gulp of beer.

"Yeah," Bella half-heartedly laughed. "I just never expected to get here and be so..." Bella paused, heaving a sigh. "...broken." _Was there any other word to describe her condition?_

Edward winced at her words. She was far from broken to him. If anything, _he_ was broken, like a wound split open, waiting for her to stitch him back up, to heal him, to complete him.

"So any luck finding a roommate yet?" she asked as she drank some of her Coke.

"Not yet," he replied matter-of-factly then took opportunity to be coy with her. "Plenty of space if you ever need a place to crash."

Bella laughed. She found that doubtful with how well she was getting along with Angela. She looked at him, about to say something. He shook his head, giving her a warm smile.

"I know," he started, "Apparently you have a roommate. Not that I've ever met her. For all I know, you could have a boyfriend living in that condo with you, maybe even sharing your _full-sized _bed."

That made Bella laugh heartily and choke slightly on her Coke. "I definitely _do _have a roommate, not a boyfriend. And don't try to impress me with your fancy household terminology. I know the truth about you." She poked his leg lightly. Playfully.

Edward gulped more of his drink, laughing, telling her that he should be getting points for remembering these things she had taught him.

The two spoke about the various gadgets they had bought on their shopping expedition and what he had had cause to use so far, before their conversation fell silent, each consuming their respective drinks.

A light breeze blew through their peaceful Autumn surroundings, picking up a few leaves and making them dance through the air.

"You're not broken, you know," Edward offered to her quietly.

Bella dismissed his words at first, suddenly humming a tune, then responded, "You don't think so?"

"No, you're not. Trust me, you're_ so_ not. What you are, as of this date, is a strong, confident woman, who happens to be the most interesting and determined person I've spent time with at Harvard." He grinned at his own way of serving her an honest compliment while Bella guffawed out a, "_Ha!"_

To Bella, Edward was easy to be with and easy to trust, but he had barely tried to get to know her. That was somewhat okay with her, but how could she be so interesting to him, unless it _could be_ attraction? She, of course, thought he was handsome, but didn't realize she was so extremely attracted to him until that day they were eating ice cream. And though she tried to keep it in check, she couldn't deny that this past week butterflies had suddenly descended and pooled in her stomach as she looked out one of her windows and saw his silver car pull into the parking lot. Bella was actually thankful that Angela was out the door for early class every morning and hadn't ever been there to witness Bella fog up the window as she watched him strut across the parking lot to the steps that led up to her condo's door.

"I don't know what you find so interesting. I've barely told you anything about myself, and…I just…" Bella hesitated with uncertainty. "Well I'm not…"

"Hey, hey," Edward said reaching out and settling her by steadying her hand that was around her Coke can. "Don't you think you have enough baggage with healing bones? I get the feeling you're getting a fresh start here. And truthfully, so am I. Most of my past is a thousand miles away, and it can stay there. It can be the same for you. We could just talk about classes and plans for the future…" He shrugged like it was no big deal to him.

Bella's eyes widened, but instantly, she was comforted. And, admittedly, a bit intrigued about _his_ past.

Edward released her and got up, walking slightly toward the tree-lined edge of the area. He began gathering up leaves while Bella placed her Coke to the side and flopped back onto the soft plaid blanket.

She sighed before calling over to him, asking, "Do you ever just wish you could completely let go of it all? Just shut off a switch or jump out of plane from so high that all of the emotional baggage you carry around with you would just fall off to the side and disappear?"

Edward continued to make a mound of leaves behind Bella. "Forget it all?" He shook his head lightly.  
"No, never." _How could he ever want to forget what happened in the meadow?_ "Forget a lot of it? _Sure_."

As he listened to her, it occurred to Edward that _this_ was the problem.

Bella had too much in her recent history that she had come to Harvard to forget, and their time in the meadow was all jumbled up in there - wedged in between the trauma of a bad accident and the breakup. How was he going to extract _just_ those moments they shared together in the meadow from everything else that she was trying to repress?

Satisfied with the size of the pile of leaves he had formed, he moved to stand over Bella and extended a hand out to her. She peered up at him using her hand to create a visor over her eyes. Taking his hand, she felt the muscles in his arm tense as she allowed him to hoist her up and guide her away from the blanket.

"Uhh, wow! That's some…big pile of leaves," Bella admired as Edward positioned her by his side, while maintaining her hand in his.

"Let go with me. We'll fall back into them and see how much baggage we lose." Edward hoped this was it, the moment it would all become so clear to her, the moment she allowed herself to remember. A planned deja vu. It was the most revealing moment they shared in the meadow. _Well, second most revealing, if he allowed himself to believe they actually made love._

She stood there looking puzzled, and he was confused by her reaction. Meadow Bella had been doing this for herself before he happened upon her that day, so he didn't understand her hesitation.

"Edward," she started, backing away and shaking her head slightly. "I used to love doing this all the time when I was growing up, but I can't risk re-injuring my leg."

_Fuckin' idiot_, he scolded himself as he threw his head back quickly and tapped the side of his head. Sure Bella could be carefree, but she was still _sensible_. Unlike himself.

Still, he wasn't going to let his work go to waste. He'd buffer her with his body. He moved to stand behind her and slipped his arms around her instructing her with a quick, "You better hang on tight spider monkey!"

"No," Bella protested, "No, this really isn't a good…._Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_!"

She had closed her eyes and then reopened them once horizontal, cushioned by Edward's body, hysterically laughing at the rush and sensation of the air whooshing past her and leaves now gently landing on her. Her laughter spread like rays into the beautiful open sky she was looking up into, as her head slightly bumped back into his chest.

"Was it good for you?" he whispered into her ear, followed by a chuckle. Her laughter was infectious, and he couldn't help teasing her.

Bella bellowed in reaction to his question but also jabbed him in his ribs with her elbow, to which he complained, "Owww," followed by another chuckle.

She rolled to the side and stood herself upright effortlessly. "Let's do it again," she nodded enthusiastically, her face beaming. "You wanna?"

Against the sunlight and the fresh air, Edward's breath hitched as he stared up at this girl, the only girl he ever truly loved. Her hair, shifted slightly by the wind, was chestnut and flowing like that day in the meadow. Her eyes were charged looking at her, the way they often were in the meadow. The way he felt they electrified only for him. Surely he was going to get her to divulge something about their dream world.

"What is it? What are you looking at me like that for?" Bella asked.

_Oh crap. _

"Oh, uhhh, do you even realize how easily you got yourself up?" he asked her, complimenting himself on his save as he sat upright.

Bella had not. She looked down at her legs, amazed and then smiled at him in awe.

"I must be having a good affect on you," Edward told her as he stood. "Pretty soon you'll be chasing me through the woods, tackling me and trying to take my clothes off." Edward gave her his crooked smile with a complementary wiggling of his eyebrows.

"Ha! Did anyone ever tell you that you're a little bit of a flirt? Maybe even a smidge _full of yourself_?"

"Hmmm, usually once women figure that out they are done talking with me."

"Oh, sorry." Bella reined her thoughts in, thinking she had insulted him. "You mean they walk away from you disgusted?" Bella wondered aloud as she held her hand out. He slid his hand against hers slowly, intertwining their fingers. With a sudden jolt, he pulled her close up against his chest, so they were facing each other this time.

"No, Bella," he said firmly, his voice turning extra raspy from the cold air.

She gulped at the sensation of him pressing right up against her chest. "No?" she quivered slightly asking.

"Nope. Shhh…close your eyes." Bella was trying to comprehend what he was saying. "One…Two…Three." With that, he fell backward before she could close her eyes, and she laughed as he held her strong to him, crashing hard into the leaves.

Their laughing continued, harmonious sounds that spread through the breeze, racing the leaves.

He thought he had it under control; he'd been vain about how easily he could handle his time with her. He told himself he'd be as patient as a saint and let things run their course. He convinvced himself that as long as he was there – as long as she allowed him to be a presence in her life — then someday soon she _would_ remember him.

But at this moment, lying there with her in his arms, patience eluded Edward Cullen.

He plucked a few leaves from her hair, showing them to her, then wrapped a natural section of her long chestnut hair around his fingers, pulling it to his nose and inhaling deeply.

His head screamed at him, _it's too soon._

She watched him.

His heart yearned and ached, _you're home with her._

He released the hair and moved his hand around the back of her neck, gently edging her toward him until their chilled lips met, lightly and softly.

His body twitched. He felt twinges and urges and…_**No! **_He wasn't going to let his body react in any way except to feel her lips as they gently pressed back against his. Her mouth was soft and warm, and exactly where he wanted to be.

The palm of his hand released her neck and leisurely traveled down her back in a soothing gesture. _Remember me, _he pleaded silently.

A mix of emotions swept through Bella fiercely. She hadn't kissed another man since Mike. She felt apprehensive, at the very least, and here she was kissing Edward. How could she possibly compare to the amount of girls he had surely kissed before her? Worse yet, what if kissing the same guy for so long had turned her into a bad kisser?

Bella felt Edward's hand tremble slightly at the small of her back and realized he was nervous, too. _Why would he be nervous? _She wondered. Just as she found comfort in that and relaxed more into the kiss, Edward's body screamed back at him, _make her yours! _

He had managed to coax her to open her mouth to him and he all-too-eagerly explored her with his tongue, caressing the ridges along her teeth and sucking down her sweet taste. But out of fear of scaring her, he slowed the kiss, while he muttered some words into her mouth that sounded to Bella a lot like he was saying "_real this time._" Meanwhile, a part of her was thinking the exact same thing.

As he pulled away, she glanced past him - on instinct or distraction - toward the top part of a tree in the distance.

"What is it?" she asked as her glance was reeled back from the distance and captured by Edward's eyes penetrating gaze.

He desperately wanted her to know who him, to recognize him.

She desperately needed reassurance that she wasn't stale and forgettable.

"Oh God," she covered her mouth pulling back from him, "Was I really bad at that?"

Edward laughed at her in response. There was no way he couldn't.

"No, of course not, Bella. I just hoped that you'd…" _Remember me._

Bella sensed his pause, narrowing her eyes in question. "That I'd…?" She drew out the word, 'I'd' anticipating his answer without predicting it.

Edward gave a relenting sigh. He was going to have to admit he didn't have the kiss of a prince to wake a sleeping princess, or even the Superman II _tamper-with-your-memory_ kiss. He was going to have to try another option.

"You know this PT thing is coming to an end next week, and I figure I'll miss spending time with you. So, I thought, well I mean I hoped, maybe you'd agree to going on a date with me," he said, his voice projecting a more upbeat tone.

"Oh." Bella wriggled out of his grasp and shook the leaves from her hair. He followed her in sitting up.

"Something a little more fun than shopping for household goods together." He smiled waiting for her response.

_A date? _Bella thought. Being asked out, only seven weeks into Harvard? This wasn't part of the plan. She had called things off with Mike to come to Harvard and focus on a career so she could carve out her future.

As she looked at Edward, she panicked. It felt like another decision she had to make. It was easier to just have gotten caught up in the moment, in a pile of leaves, than to actually be forced to make another choice.

Looking into his eyes, there was a kindness there she recognized, as if it had been bestowed on her before, but she could never fully place.

They had been hanging out together a bit on Saturday nights at the coffee house. Nothing formal or heavy. It was a perfectly casual friendship. With classes and PT, shouldn't that be enough for her?

Despite her feeling of gratefulness toward him and her penchant for his company, she couldn't get overly involved with him. That's what she had always done in the past. Been with the wrong guy too quickly, _just to be with a guy_. She was at Harvard now and needed to stay focused. Classes were tough enough, not to mention the extra physical therapy that had been taking up her time. And once she got past the physical therapy, she knew she was going to have to manage to find a job.

"Look Bella, I know it took a lot for you to get here, but I really think you're going to find everything you're looking for here." _…with me._

_But_… Bella smiled. There _were_ the butterflies that Edward caused her to have. Ones she hadn't felt since high school.

"Just one date?" Bella asked tentatively, rationalizing that one date couldn't hurt or be much different than time she already spent out on Saturday nights.

"_That's_ what I'm asking."

"Sure if you want to go out with broken me…" Bella looked down, avoiding any contact with those alluring green eyes of his. She was giving him an out, and he knew it. He wasn't taking it.

Edward crooked his forefinger and positioned his knuckle on the soft skin under her jaw, lifting her chin as he leaned in to kiss her chastely. _…more than anything. _

"You're _not_ broken," he insisted. "You're beautiful."

~x~

Edward returned home to his small, but at-least-now-more-comfortable abode, delirious with himself. His plan hadn't entirely worked, but even if the memories hadn't been triggered, he _had_ kissed her. He had fucking kissed her, tasted her, breathed her and, _hopefully_, teased her body. And, he had gotten her to agree to go on a date with him, which meant their time together wouldn't be abruptly ending.

He thought his day couldn't get any better, but as he grabbed the mail on his way in, he recognized the handwriting on one of the envelopes.

He opened it casually, wondering what his mother had to tell him that could not be done over the computer or phone.

_Dear Edward, _

_I found this stashed away in a box. I wish I could do more, but I hope this helps in some small way._

_Love, Mom_

Edward held up a picture, recognizing himself and a fair-skinned little girl sitting amongst tall green grass and pastel-colored flowers with their bare feet jutting up against each other. She wore a smile and a white eyelet bonnet over her auburn hair, and he wore a squint. The day the picture was taken must have been sunny and warm. Flipping the picture over, he read:

_**Edward and Isabella '91**__._

Edward's breath hitched, almost as strongly as the day he saw Bella in the hospital. The memory of that day flooded him, to see her there hooked up to tubes - the simultaneous elation and despair he had felt to think he found her, and yet had lost her, in the same moments.

Memories and dreams were too intangible. Despite _mostly _convincing his family, Edward had spent nights lying in bed questioning if it had been real. All he needed was one word from Bella to confirm it all for him.

With no recollection of the day in 1991, he decided to allow the picture to be a collective reminder that they had shared _real moments_ together and that they had more _real moments_ together ahead of them.

He hung up the picture on his refrigerator with a local pizza place's take-out magnet.

Looking at it, he smiled in gratitude of his mother.

He smiled in belief of love.

~x~

**A/N: Can you plan deja vu? We skipped quite a bit of time, didn't we? Oh man, don't you just want to slap Bella sometimes? LOL ****This was probably the second chapter (the park part) I wrote when I started penning this. I hope you enjoyed!**

**This chapter was dedicated to myedward3 because she wrote me (kiTT) into her FF story!**

**Hope to hear from you!**

**~kiTT**


	11. Tail'd'ating, part 1

**A/N: Great reaction to the last chapter from all the readers, or as I like to refer to you guys as the Harvard Ladies in Waiting! (like that?) Love seeing you all pop in and tell me how much you want to smack Bella! LOL That's because we all went through the trauma from Edward's POV. Put yourself in _her_ shoes. She's gone through a lot of bad stuff and being with Edward doesn't just erase it all, as much as ****we all like to joke that it should. **

**Thank you to the loverly TwiWeasel for signing up for this beta gig and going along with the story.**

**Most of you also expressed excitement over the date! I'm excited for it too! **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. All characters and certain dialogue credited to her and Melissa Rosenberg. Their familiar words-my spin! **

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Tail'd'ating, part 1**

~x~

Edward had spoken to his father over the weekend. Carlisle had assured him that he had been receiving copies of Bella's progress notes, and had every reassurance that her rehabilitation has been thorough and effective. According to the notes, Bella was 95% improved and was due to be released from physical therapy with home exercises to perform, and instructions for taking calcium supplements, but no limitations. One of Bella's visits, two weeks prior, had included an overall follow-up physical examination with the doctor and x-rays, all of which showed calloused bone. Edward had thanked his dad for monitoring her progress from Forks.

~x~

"Is there anything special you wanted to do on our date?" Smiling, Edward broached the subject with Bella on Monday morning as he drove her to therapy.

"I don't know," Bella exclaimed with some confusion.

"Saturday night, right?" he asked, seeking to confirm.

"Yeah, because I actually have a study session on Friday night and a paper to work on Saturday day. Probably most of Sunday, too."

"Sounds like you're going to have a busy weekend." He was a little disappointed. He was hoping there was more room for a day trip with her. "And you're not opposed to me picking you up?"

Bella broke out laughing—an unabashed howling. "Edward, you've already _picked me up_."

"_Wow_…you make it sound so cliché, like I used some line on you at a bar one night, got your number, and waited four days to call you." He gave her a crookedly cheeky grin.

Bella laughed musically. "I _mean _for the car rides."

With an afterthought passing through her mind, Bella snorted to herself.

"What?" Edward asked, knowing something had struck Bella's mind as funny.

"Not that you would have called me anyway, but come on, like I would have fallen for some cheesy pick-up line from you." She didn't even try to hold back what she had been thinking.

"Cheesy? What makes you think _my_ pick-up lines would be _cheesy_?" Edward feigned feeling wounded, placing his hand over his heart.

"Aren't all pick-up lines_ cheesy_?" Bella mocked, "_Are you tired? Because you've been running through my mind all day. _Cheesy! _Was your father a thief because he stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes. _Cheesy!"

Edward chuckled. She had him beat. "Yeah, a guy would have to be stupid to think those would work."

Just as Edward was pulling into the parking lot, Bella playfully directed back at him, "What about when a guy tries to tell you how familiar you seem and adds in a _Don't I know you? _Chee-sy!"

Edward coughed in reaction to this, caught off guard. That wouldn't necessarily have been so far off from what he had practiced saying to her in his mind anticipating that first time they would see each other at Harvard.

"Yeah, pfft… what girl is going to fall for that?"

"So then ... which lines _do_ work for a guy like you?" Bella wondered if Edward ever needed to use a pick-up line in his life. He could probably tell a girl to meet him out back of any bar in five minutes and she'd be there in two minutes already unbuttoning her shirt. She laughed to herself at the thought of him having to habitually tell girls _stop trying to take your clothes off _out in public places. It's not that Edward gave off a player vibe or that she thought he took advantage of his looks. In fact, she thought just the opposite. Despite the fact that he could be a bit of a flirt with her, she seemed to think he was somewhat unaware of how good looking he was. As far as she could tell, he never seemed to notice how he affected women who came into contact with him.

"Ehhhh, pass. I'm not telling you."

"What? Why not?" she said surprised before batting her eyelashes lightly and softening her tone. "I wanna know."

After smoothly maneuvering into a spot, he undid his seatbelt and leaned over to the passenger seat, close enough that his nose just skimmed the delicate pale skin below her earlobe. He whispered through warm breath, "Because any line I'd use on you might alter the course of your destiny."

A deep sense of longing swept through Bella, swift and compelling, as Edward pulled back in satisfaction. He cut the engine, exited the car, and walked around to her side, while Bella sat there in a state of fascinated bewilderment, completely unaware that Edward had just _used a line_ on her.

~x~

**A/N: part 2 soon! **

**In the meantime, please check out these banners SassyKassie made for the sequel! I love banners and story fanart and videos, just that extra chance to bring a story to life. These banners do it very well! Thanks so much to Kassie! You can find links to both on my profile page! **

**be good!**

**kiTT :) **


	12. Tail'd'ating, part 2

**A/N: Just a quick note to the Harvard Ladies in Waiting. You seem to like grown-up Eddie's swoon! Thanks for the reviews. You had me smiling at your love of Edward and the creative recycling of Twilight quotes, nodding at your offered insight, and laughing at the impatience! Did you see what Tonerlady said, "I think it's time for him to step it up and at least let her know how much he likes her. In the real world people don't Dick around that long do they lol." LOL!**

**Thanks again to the TwiWeasel for some awesome beta skills and overall enthusiasm over this story. **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. All recognizable characters and familiar dialogue credited to SM and Melissa Rosenberg.**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait, **

no longer

~xXx~

**Tail'd'ating, part 2**

~x~

"Come take a break, Swannie! I'm here and only have a few minutes before I have to go get ready for work!"

Alice was already sitting on the grey couch, ready to give her account of the party she and Riley attended last night. Bella joined Alice and Angela, ready for a short distraction from the paper she was working on in her bedroom. When Alice had nothing more to report about Riley, she was ready to focus on Bella.

"Okay, so tell us all the details about your date with Edward," Alice said all swoony.

Bella leaned across the kitchen countertop, looking out to the living area. "I don't know all the details. He's surprising me. I just know he's picking me up around four thirty."

"Damn it! I won't be around then. I'm never gonna meet this guy, am I?" Angela whined. "And watch him show up with a friend for me one of these days and I'm not here!"

Bella just laughed. "Maybe someday."

"What do you _think_ you'll be doing? Don't you have any idea where he's taking you?" Alice, being a local, thought she could figure out his surprise destination.

"No, I really don't know. He asked me what I'd like to do and I think I scared him off when I told him that I'd always wanted to visit the towns of Salem and Marblehead. Maybe see the house that was Nathaniel Hawthorne's inspiration for _The House of Seven Gables_."

"Morbid, much?" Angela winced.

"Oh, so you'll be travelling and staying overnight with him?" Alice persisted in her line of questioning.

"Definitely not. I realized that was a bit too far, though he kind of threw it out there that we could plan a weekend doing that another time. But, I don't know if that will actually happen."

"So how far _are_ you going to let it go tonight?" Angela asked casually, faking an interest in her manicure as she looked down at her nails.

Bella laughed. "Angela, be serious. It's a first date."

"Yeah, but the ice was broken weeks ago, and it sounds like he's been chiseling away at it ever since with phone calls and kissing in the park."

"Kissing in the park that you described as _dreamy_, don't forget. You see what's going on here, Angela? Because I certainly get the picture," Alice threw in for extra measure.

"Oh, I get the picture, too!" Angela turned back to Bella. "He even showed up with coffee for you at your study session at the library," Angela insisted.

"What? When was this?" Alice asked.

"Last night!" Angela tattled, wishing she had been able to get a glimpse of Edward yesterday.

Bella quietly tried to downplay it. "What? He was in the area. He had books to return or look for at that library. We had been texting and I jokingly told him how badly I needed coffee to get through the studying. So he brought me one. No big deal."

"_And_ stuck around long enough to give you a ride home…" Angela added to prove her point.

"And they're texting. Come on, Bella. Angela's right, there can't be much ice left," Alice chimed in.

"I told myself that this is just one date to get it out of my system, you know. And then I need to concentrate on classes."

"Get _what_ out of your system? Like _sleep _with him?" Alice's eyes twinkled at the prospect of her friend getting laid.

"Uh, no. I kind of have this hang-up about one-night stands, so that's _definitely not_ happening."

"Okay, whatever." Angela quietly acknowledged this then excused herself to make a call. Bella and Alice glanced at each other, slightly perplexed.

"Well who says it has to be a one-night stand? And what did I tell you about getting some fun in for yourself?" Alice glanced at her phone to check the time. "_Oh crap_! I've got to get going. Well listen, if you two aren't going back to his place for a little slap and tickle, then I want you guys to stop by the coffee house tonight after whatever it is you do. I'll judge for myself if this is going to be a one-time thing, thank you very much!" Alice picked up her keys and told Bella she wasn't taking _no_ for an answer. "Tell Angela I said _bye_."

~x~

Bella waited patiently in her quiet condo for Edward's arrival. _It's just one date, _she reminded herself. And really, was it going to be much of a _date_-date_._ After all, she had already spent more time with him than any other guy at since coming to Harvard. He'd already given her rides. They'd shared meals together. He knew her schedule; she knew his. He even knew how she took her coffee. It was going to be more of the same—two friends hanging out together.

_Friends who have kissed,_ Bella dreamily thought over that kiss. _Shit! Angela and Alice were probably right about the ice. And what did that mean about _his_ expectations for tonight?_

She ducked into the bathroom and rinsed with mouthwash once again, added a bit of mascara to her simple makeup regimen, and reapplied her lipstick.

***knock knock***

~x~

**A/N: **_**You've gotta love all the possibilities as to who is on the other side.** _

**be good,**

**kiTT :)**


	13. How Do You Like Them Apples?

**A/N: Did I throw some of you Harvard ladies in waiting into a tailspin with my note at the end of the last chapter? lol I can't imagine why! *snickers*Thank you for the reviews. :) ****This is a LONG chapter. I've been working on it for awhile now, I think since 1918. Writing is difficult. **

**I have to sincerely thank TwiWeasel for all of her hard work, not just in beta-ing this beast but for offering more embellishment along the way. She often 'gets' what it is I lack in storytelling and suggests how to fix it. Any mistakes you pick up on along the way are mine, and I usually try to go back to correct after you guys read.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Characters and dialogue borrowed from her and Melissa Rosenberg, also Matt Damon, as you can see in the chapter title. **

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait**

no longer

**~xXx~**

How do you like _them_ _apples_?

**~x~**

Edward stood outside the door, leisurely taking in a deep breath. As much as he wanted Bella to remember him, he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy hearing her say 'yes' when she agreed to go out with him. He wanted the chance to impress her, the opportunity to let her spend time with him, to get to know him better. He just needed this date to go well. He had already texted Emmett, who wished him luck. Edward reminded himself what Emmett told him. _You've got this Cullen. You've had this since orientation._

The weather was cooperating—not so cold that they wouldn't be able to still spend some time outside before the sun set.

Bella jumped in reaction to the soft knocking, suddenly nervous.

"Who is it?" she called, rushing to the door.

"Edward," he replied.

She answered the door with a warm hello in greeting. He answered her with an explanation as to why he was empty handed.

"I would have liked to have brought you flowers…" he started.

"Oh no. That's okay." Bella shook her head in a way that she was dismissing herself as even worthy of such an idea. That drove Edward crazy. "I don't need flowers." _Flowers? _Bella hadn't even considered that. Mike had only given her the obligatory [but obnoxiously ostentatious] three-dozen red roses on Valentine's Day.

"Bella. Stop. What if I told you there's going to be flowers involved?"

"_Oh?_ Okay," she conceded, stepping back to give him room to enter.

Edward looked down at her shoes as he stepped inside. "You might want to wear sneakers."

"Really? Are we going to…"

"_Uht_, uht, uht…_You_ said it didn't matter what we did, so _I _decided. You'll know what we're doing when we get there." He flashed a cunning smile at her.

Bella was about to say something but relented. "There will be flowers involved?" Bella was putting her brown suede coat on, and Edward gentlemanly reached out to help her with her sleeve.

"There will be."

"Then I'm in!" she grinned. "Just let me go change into my sneakers, and we can be on our way."

~x~

"Goodman Brown Farms?"

They pulled off the road and traveled a dirt path until they came to a few Pick-Ur-Own signs.

"They have pumpkin _and_ apple picking here. Disappointed?"

The wide smile on Bella's face perked her right up. She hadn't done this in years. _Years!_ Not since she had visited her grandparents when she was younger. "No, like zero disappointment. I love being outdoors even when the weather is chilly like this, especially now because I feel like I spent too much time cooped up while…" Bella caught herself. "Well, you know, once my leg was broken and now with class and studying."

Edward and Bella had left the car and walked to a small outdoor stand, where they paid an admission fee, and the person working it directed them toward the pumpkin patch, corn maze, and apple orchard.

"It was the closest thing around here I could find related to Hawthorne," he grinned at her expecting that to earn him points. Bella smiled. It earned him major points that apparently she hadn't freaked him out with her talk of Hawthorne and his legacy in the area.

"Up for the corn maze?" Edward teased, "It might be spooky."

"Sure. I can see why you told me to wear sneakers, now." Bella was happy to be in her sneakers; she was feeling a bit _free._ She wanted to test her rehab. At the maze's entrance she turned Edward around to look outside of the maze, directing his attention toward something insignificant off in the distance, and took off running.

Edward turned around to ask Bella what it was she wanted him to see, only to find her no longer standing there. "Bella?" he called out.

Bella laughed, hearing him call for her. "You've got to catch me!" she yelled back.

Edward smiled slyly. _This Bella _he definitely remembered. "When I find you, I'm tickling you senseless."

"Not ticklish," she laughed and called back but didn't bother to stop running. She found her way deeper and deeper through the stalks of corn and occasional stacks made up of bales of hay.

"Ha!" Edward laughed in reaction.

Darting his way down a path, peeking around corners and pushing back tall stalks of corn, Edward continued to look for her. When he found himself in a dead end he remembered a really bad dream he had once, where he had to find his way through a maze made out of shrubs that kept coming to life and trying to kill him. Of all people, that Harry Potter kid showed up to save him with magic, but it didn't matter, as soon as he made it out of the maze, he died. Edward laughed at the stupidity of that dream. Dreaming of Bella was much more…_rewarding_. Speaking of dreaming about her, as their bodies wound up in a heap at the bottom of a hill in the meadow one of those times, he definitely remembered finding out a spot or two where she was ticklish.

He continued trying to coax her out.

"Marco?" he called out.

After a minute, he heard her giggle, "Polo…you'll never find me."

Intermittently, Edward shoved corn stalks away from his face trying to see through to the other side of the path, determined to catch her. When he came across the third pile of hay bales stacked up, he climbed up them to the very top and looked out. He could see above the stalks, and that's when he spotted a bit of brown from her coat sticking out between bales of hay a few stacks away. _Found you, _he thought. He took another moment to scope out the paths before jumping down, intent on stealthily making his way to her.

Despite dried brittle corn stalks beneath his feet crunching and crackling, he tried to sneak up on her as quietly as possible. A family of parents and their three chatty kids went by him, their noise masking his own. As he tiptoed up on what he thought was the right stack of hay bales, he tried to figure out if she was hiding behind it or had somehow crawled inside it. He slowly crept along the outer edge, peeking between the pale yellow and tan straw that made up the hay stack until he saw her inside a hollowed cavity. The hay swished below his knees as he dropped low and crawled around the back to find the entrance to her little hay cave.

"Found you!"

She squealed an _Ahhh! _at the sight of him and tried to squeeze through an opening between two bales of hay to exit the cave. "Still have to catch me!" she cried in teasing.

Edward lunged after her, catching her leg.

"Oww, oww, oww," Bella cried out. "My leg!"

"Oh shit!" Edward let go of his grasp on her, not realizing he was hurting her. "I'm so sorry, Bella! I didn't mean to…"

With his release, Bella jumped up to her feet and took off running.

"Oops, looks like it's better!" she called out behind her.

_What? Did she just play on my sympathy?_ Edward was befuddled for a moment.

"You're in trouble now!" Edward took off running after her, tapping his _going for a homerun _speed and finally overtaking her. This time, he grabbed her by her waist, wrapping both of his arms around her and picked her up in the air, all the while she bellowed out a scream of schoolyard delight.

"I've got you now," he laughed, as he spun around-her feet lifted from the ground-as she struggled to catch her breath. He lowered her back to down easily as the two of them laughed. "I can't believe you tricked me!"

"You should have seen the look on your face!" Bella laughed in between the words and pointed to him.

"Ha ha!" he said sarcastically as he sat down on a bale of hay. She settled down next to him, suddenly wondering if he'd kiss her again. He hadn't kissed her since that day in the park. And every time she had seen him since then, he hadn't tried to kiss her. She hadn't minded so much, but they were on an official date now. It would be acceptable to her. _More than acceptable, _she suddenly thought. She leaned into him, putting her lips at a closer proximity to his. He noticed. He wondered how long they could go hide in the hay stack without being seen. Probably not long, as he heard more and more voices in the maze. People approached and whizzed by them. He heard a boy yell, "Cool, a hideout!"

"You want to go pick some apples?" he asked.

"Sure, because I'm not ticklish, so no point in trying _that_," Bella said with light sarcasm, inferring that he could have kissed her instead.

"Yes, you are," he told her. "In the right spots you are." He took her hand, getting her to stand, and took the lead.

Bella sighed, letting it go that he wasn't believing her when she said she was not ticklish.

"Let's find our way out of this place." He squeezed her hand tighter. "No running away this time."

Once they emerged from the exit, he let go of her hand to retrieve a basket for collecting apples.

They entered the orchard down a wide aisle that divided the rows of apples. The paths between the rows of apple trees were wide, too, but only half-grassy. They passed a lot of parents pulling their children in wagons until they got to a quieter section.

"You pick the first one," Bella told Edward.

"Okay, why me?"

"Uhh, haven't you ever seen _The Wizard of Oz_? Trees throwing apples at you?" Bella mock shivered.

"Oh right. Yeah, Harvard, I think I've seen that." _We're not in Oz anymore, _he thought to himself. He plucked the first apple and took a bite out of it. "See? We're not in Oz. It's not poisonous either. Oh no!" He staggered backwards. "I think I spoke too soon." He dropped himself down; his body sprawled across the ground.

Bella clapped at his performance. He looked up at her and smiled before standing up.

"You know most people would have let the apple roll off out of their hand."

"Then I wouldn't be able to do this." He held out the apple to her. "Want a bite?"

Bella thought back to when she had shared her ice cream with him. With both of her hands, she covered his hand and secured the apple, both of them bringing it up to her mouth. She sunk her teeth into the part nearest to where he had already eaten. Juice dribbled out and down the side of her mouth. Edward stood, captivated by the way her slightly wind-burned lips, moistened with the apple's juice, glistened in the remaining sun as it hovered over the orchard. Her hand flew up to wipe at the juice running down her chin, just as he had reached out his thumb to wipe at it.

"Mmmm, okay so I guess we're safe and I can help pick some apples now," Bella laughed as she began tugging at an apple from a tree. Edward took another bite of the apple then looked around to make sure there were no more people in his line of vision from where they were standing to the field that bordered the end of their row. He started announcing himself like he was on a baseball pitcher's mound. "There's the wind up and here's the pitch." He pitched the apple down the lane like it was a baseball.

"Impressive," Bella said, knowing that the apple landed in the field beyond the last apple tree, adding in, "Your pitching, that is, or was I supposed to comment on your love of Meatloaf songs?"

"Just the pitching. I used to play," Edward shrugged. "Want to try?"

"Me? No I cheered, not played."

"C'mon Harvard, you can do it. I'll help you."

Edward picked an apple and demonstrated to Bella how to place her fingers around it. She picked an apple from their basket and tried to mimic him. "Okay, now watch me."

He stood sideways, pulled back his arm, lifted his knee then sent the apple soaring through the air.

Bella tried to do the same but couldn't get her stance right. He stepped behind her, placing his hands on her hips. He gently angled her body then wrapped one hand around hers. As strong as the scent of apples were, that perfume she always wore was right there invading his senses. He took the opportunity to skim his nose along her hair and down her neck. "Nice and easy," he told her as he pulled her arm back and then released. Bella had sent the apple through the air, but faltered just as Edward moved her hair out of his way and fondled her earlobe and the delicate skin below it. Bella's stomach contracted as a ripple of laughter rolled through her and escaped her mouth. She watched the apple land no more than three feet away from them.

"I told you that you were ticklish" he whispered and backed away from her.

As her laughter subsided, she narrowed her eyes at him, marched over to an apple tree, picked an apple and chucked it directly at him…which he caught with two hands.

"Whoa, bring it on, Harvard! I should have brought my mitt!"

"Lucky guess. You must have an ex-girlfriend that was ticklish there so you tried it on me?"

"Um, yeah, _something_ like that," he said with a wink to her. It was times like these that Edward didn't mind that Bella didn't remember him. He had the upper hand.

As more people entered the row of apple trees they were in, they decided to move. He picked up their basket, and they made their way down another lane.

They took their time collecting apples, telling each other stories along the way.

"When I was a kid my mom and I used to cut shapes out of apple slices and dip them in colored sugars or cinnamon before we ate them." Bella chuckled at the memory. "She always tried to make eating my fruits and veggies fun for me, I guess."

Edward plucked an apple from a higher branch, holding it out to her. "So it was like, edible art?"

"Yeah, _something_ like that," she mimicked his response with a smile and a wink back to him.

Bella looked at their full basket of apples. "Look at all these apples! Why did we get a bushel basket? Edward, what are we going to do with all these apples?"

"Hmmm, I'd say bake a pie, but I don't remember picking up any pie pans on our shopping adventure."

"Maybe we can do some bobbing for apples." Bella laughed at the thought of it. She hadn't done that since a frat party in college. The frat party where she met Mike at, actually. "Or, maybe not."

Edward watched as Bella checked out, mentally. Her eyes stared off, and she went to a faraway place for a moment. He was so curious where she went, if there was something she remembered about him. He took advantage of the moment.

"Bella, did I ever thank you for taking me shopping that day?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so," Bella blinked, half distracted but glad her thoughts left Mike and returned to Edward. And Harvard. And shopping. And _ice cream_.

"I did? Good." Edward glanced around realizing they were mostly alone. The nearest people were further down the lane. He stepped closer to Bella, placing his hands at the small of her waist, and slid his cheek along her hair, bringing his lips to her ear, whispering, "Did I thank you like this?" He skimmed his nose along her hair in a small circle before slowly gliding his mouth to her cheek where he placed a long, lingering kiss.

In reaction to him, Bella's arms flew up around his neck and locked together. His lips formed a smile right against her cheek as they stood glued to each other at one warm, pink spot. He was waiting…_always waiting_ to hear her say it, that she remembered him, but her words didn't come.

"We'll think of something to do with the apples," he said as he removed his hands from her waist and traveled them up her sides, then up her arms, until they reached her hands and unlocked them from behind his neck. Overwhelmed by the contact, Bella stood in a daze, allowing Edward to move her arms for her until he completely released her hands. She had forgotten what he had been saying.

He remarked about the chill in the air as they lost daylight before picking up the basket. "They have a picnic grove and a stand where you can get homemade hot apple cider. It'll give us a chance to sit and talk. Does that sound good?"

"You know what?" Bella said, out of her daze and smiling in hopes that Edward hadn't realized she had just been in a hazy moment. "It really does," Bella answered approvingly.

Oh, but Edward _had _realized.

Before paying for the apples, Bella and Edward agreed that choosing pre-picked pumpkins out of the bin was going to be the better way to go today. She selected a medium-sized round pumpkin with a long stem, while he chose a large oval one with a short nub. He tried to convince her to get a bigger pumpkin, but Bella insisted she liked how perfectly round and symmetrical the one she picked out was. They carried their purchases to the car and deposited them there before heading over to the picnic table area. Bella got in line at the small booth, insisting she would pay for this part, and sent him to sit down at a table.

Most of the tables were filled with families who had come to do some pumpkin picking. He found an empty end of a table and waited for her to join him, all too pleased that the weather had held up, and it had been a good day for their outing. She genuinely seemed to be enjoying spending time with him. He didn't mind her choice to skip the pumpkin picking, only because he had heard one of the workers encourage a family to take a wagon for their kids because there were some muddy patches out in the field. _Ugh, mud! _He could definitely do without any more mud where Bella was concerned.

Bella appeared with two lidded foam cups. "Mmmmm," she said handing him his cider across the table and bringing hers to her nose. "That smells so good!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a donut.

She took a bite and expressed an exaggerated, "Mmmmmm" with a swaying of her shoulders, from across the table. He noticed her wide eyes and coy smile, toying with him.

"What's that you have there?" Edward asked.

"Apple cider donut! Mmmmm. So good." She held a piece up in between them just to show him, before popping it in her mouth. "They make them here fresh, too, and I couldn't resist them. Oh, I'm sorry, did you want one, too?" Bella laughed.

"I wouldn't say _no._"

"Good, because I got you one." She cracked a smile at his response, pulling another donut out of the bag she had stashed into her coat pocket, and handed him the donut in a napkin.

"Thank you. Now I don't have to tickle you more in retaliation."

After a few minutes of silence and enjoying their donuts, Edward exclaimed, "That _is _good!" before transitioning the topic to something he wasn't sure he should. He shook his hands together to dust off the powdered sugar from them and used the napkin to wipe his mouth. "So are you ever going to tell me the real story? About your leg, that is. Not that I don't believe you could have taken some guy in a bar fight."

Bella sipped her cider, contemplating opening up to him. He always had that way of making her feel unguarded and making her smile as he added in that last part about the bar fight.

"It was a car accident," she said slowly. "Head-on collision. In the fog. I was driving. Other cars were involved. People died. I almost did too. And even though the police said it wasn't my fault, every day I live with the guilt that I survived."

"Wow!" Bella's face dropped. "I've actually never told anyone about it before," she exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What else?" he pressed, glad she was opening up to _him_.

"I mean, I know I'm lucky to be alive, but the circumstances surrounding it are still just too much to…" Bella paused. "I guess I'm not really ready to open up about the whole thing." She felt like she put out there as much as she needed to at the moment.

"Why? Was it like you _saw the white light_ type of thing?"

"If I said _yes _would you think I was crazy?"

He looked her square in the eyes, reaching his hand out across the table and resting it on her wrist. "No."

Bella looked at Edward and wanted to believe him, but she trusted her instinct to hesitate to confide _that_ much into another person, let alone, _him._

"I think seeing the white light might have been easier to do than what I had to face once I woke up in the hospital. It ultimately led to me breaking up with my boyfriend, just so I could come here."

"Your boyfriend…uhh, he didn't want you to go to Harvard?"

"He had uh, other plans, for me, to stay local to him and join his family business." Bella shook her head simply _no_, as she thought of that as a possibility while still sipping her cider.

"So you survived all of that and your boyfriend let you go? He's over you?" It wasn't fair of him to ask that, and he knew it. On the one hand, Edward really needed to hear that things were over between her and Mike. _What if they had some sort of agreement that they would get back together once she was finished school? What if she had plans to spend Thanksgiving with him?_ On the other hand, it was incredulous to think _any_ guy could walk away, just let a girl like Bella go, after she had just gone through that life-or-death situation.

Bella rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. That was just one of those tough questions. "Well, he wasn't happy about it. One of the perks of moving out here was creating distance, I guess."

"Does that mean that coming here was running away?"

"No, not at all. I used to love to read about this area. I loved Hawthorne's books growing up, and the history of New England, and I just always wanted to come here. My family couldn't really afford it so I went to a state school. One day I found myself confessing all of this to one of my favorite professors whose own daughter had gone to Harvard, and he told me I had given up too easily. Without me even asking, he took time to review my grades and convinced me that a graduate program was my second chance. He even helped find the scholarship that I applied for and was awarded. So…that's how it all kind of started, anyway."

"That's amazing," Edward reacted to her story. He felt like he needed to say more, but was suddenly finding it hard to hold back talking about the meadow and that moment when they both realized they'd be at Harvard at the same time.

"So, what about you?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he asked, still distrated by his memories.

"Running away?" Bella tilted her head trying to see his averted eyes. "Or toward something?"

Her question had an easy answer.

"Definitely toward something," he offered with no hesitancy.

Bella quirked an eyebrow. "You sound really sure of yourself."

"Oh, I am." He said adamantly. "This summer I found a part of something I never realized I had lost. I'm hoping to recover the rest while I'm here." He grinned.

"Well that sounds promising, though a little cryptic" she commented, puzzled by his declaration. "It's like you're here on a treasure hunt or something," she giggled.

"That's one way to put it, I suppose."

The two sat quietly for a moment.

"Do you miss it?" Bella asked.

Edward choked on his cider, remembering that question from the meadow. "Excuse me?"

_Eddie pulled out his baseball card collection and showed Bella some of his favorite players. She was uninterested. _

_She tried to read aloud a section from her book to share with him. He yawned from boredom. _

_At twelve years old, their outside interests could be quite different, but they both agreed being able to spend the afternoon together made them happy._

_They used sticks and rocks to play tic-tac-toe on the floor of the tree house and carved their initials into the walls. _

"_Do you miss it?" Eddie turned to Bella as they sat in the clubhouse looking out._

"_Miss what?" Bella asked confused._

"Oh, I'm sorry. Baseball. You played in college, you said."

"Do I miss baseball? Um, I'd have to say 'no'."

"Really?" Bella seemed surprised. "How come?"

Edward heaved a heavy sigh. "Don't get me wrong, I love the game. And I played hard. I took it really seriously. But in some ways, baseball was something that filled a void growing up, something that tied me to people and a place. You can play baseball anywhere, and the game doesn't change, but I did. It's a very lonely sport."

"How was it lonely when you were part of a team?"

"In theory we were a team, but you spend an awful lot of time standing alone in your corner of the diamond." Edward shrugged.

"Try being a cheerleader. You only say what you're told to say and when you're told to say it. It's like being a…_drone_."

"You cheered in college?"

"No, just high school. By college, I knew that cheering wasn't for me. I wasn't completely up for the competitions, and, who knows, maybe it's a little bit like you said, it was something to help fill the void. Though, I hadn't ever thought of it that way."

"You had _the void_?" Edward said it in a teasing manner intentionally, in hopes she would share more.

Bella nodded an answer of _yes. _"When I was growing up, I thought it was because I was an only child, but now I know it's not. I just always felt like a piece of myself was missing." She hadn't really thought about it since breaking up with Mike. She shrugged quickly and scrunched up her face. "I guess it was just typical teenage angst."

_It was more than that_, Edward hoped. And he wanted to hear more about her life growing up, but before he could ask anything, Bella surprised him.

"You must have had your void filled from time to time." She knew the double entendre she was making. "What about now? Girlfriend, ex-girlfriends or other commitments?"

Even with a jacket on, Edward's chest raised noticeably as he breathed in deeply.

"Nothing of any consequence," he hedged, knowing what she was asking.

"Are you sure?"

She noticed as Edward markedly hesitated. "Umm, yeah. Pretty sure." Edward's hesitation, of course, was because he was caught off guard by Bella's question, as a montage of memories- all involving her- flooded his mind once more.

They sat staring at each other for a few moments, finishing their apple cider. Bella looked down at her watch and was surprised at how long they had been there.

"You wanna get out of here now?" he asked, nodding his head toward the parking lot.

"Sure."

As they walked hand-in-hand toward the exit, Edward stopped, pulling her toward a barrel of sunflowers he had noticed on the way in. They were not the massively tall ones, but the medium-sized ones, with the deep golden-colored petals and coffee-brown round centers.

"Do you like these?"

"Yes, I like sunflowers a lot, actually!"

"Why don't you pick some out."

"Really?"

"I told you there'd be flowers," he told her in a reassuring voice.

Bella picked out one.

Edward laughed. "I said flowers." Edward exaggerated the '-ers' sound at the end. "That's not gonna do," Edward said. "Why don't you get more," he told her.

Bella picked out two more. Edward rolled his eyes, huffing slightly, and handed her three more. He grabbed one more, which he held. When Bella protested, he insisted, "This last one is not for you. It's for my house, so I can have a reminder of you."

"Oh, I don't recall you buying any vases. What will you put it in?" Bella laughed.

Edward stumbled for a minute. He really couldn't care less about what it was in; he just wanted the reminder of her. He also wanted a flower there for her to see, in hopes that she came to his house one day soon.

"Don't worry," Bella laughed. "An empty beer bottle would actually work fine."

"In that case, I'm sure I've got a few empty Heineken bottles in my recycle bin."

"Perfect! The green will go really well with the sunflower," Bella joked. "Very artsy."

Edward paid for the flowers, and they were wrapped up in plastic for Bella. After leaving, Edward insisted on bringing her back to her condo so he could help her carry up their goods. They decided to split up the apples, leaving her with the majority of them.

Luckily, Bella had a vase. Her mom and dad had sent her a delivery of pink roses in a vase to celebrate the removal of her cast weeks ago. Bella pulled it out from beneath the sink and filled it with water before trimming the sunflowers to fit. They looked pretty on the dark kitchen bar.

"Maybe your roommate should come see them."

"Sorry. She's not here." Bella grinned at the ongoing joke.

Bella suddenly found herself backed against the kitchen corner, pinned on both sides by Edward's outstretched arms. His palms rested on the countertop.

"Maybe we should take advantage of that…" Edward smiled.

Bella's body went stiff, as a sudden innate fear trickled through her. She didn't like feeling trapped. Edward realized he was suddenly making her uncomfortable, which was the last thing he wanted to do.

He stepped back and made his way over to the foyer. "Go change your shoes. I'll wait here," he said in a gentle tone.

Edward had promised they were going to dinner at someplace casual, not fancy. Bella didn't quite believe him until they pulled up to a Hibachi restaurant in a neighboring town. She assured him that she loved Hibachi restaurants and was up for the show.

They were seated at a square table with another couple and a family of four. Everyone at the table played along with the chef as he wowed them with his fancy culinary moves, made jokes at his own expense and tossed shrimp tails up in the air, catching them in his chef hat.

A restaurant like that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for talking, but Bella and Edward both cheered as Edward caught a piece of steak the Hibachi chef had tossed toward his mouth before the chef served up their food.

"Mine's good. Is yours good?" Edward asked Bella as he took a pull of his beer.

"Mine is great! I'm so glad we came here. I haven't been to one of these restaurants in a few years, and I had forgotten how entertaining they are."

As the chef cleaned up the grill in front of them, Edward and Bella both felt too self conscious about the people who could hear their conversation to talk too much on a personal level.

"We're still going to the coffee house after this?" Edward asked.

"Alice is kind of expecting us," Bella said apologetically.

"I don't mind. You two have really become good friends, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"Think Felix will be stopping in tonight?"

Bella turned her head away, taking the last sip of her Coke. "I'm not sure. I guess it depends on if he has to work or not."

~x~

Alice squealed in delight when Edward and Bella walked through the door. "Really Alice?" Bella asked as she approached them. "We've been here before on Saturday nights, haven't we?"

"Yes, but this is different! And, I didn't think you'd show! Hi, Edward," Alice greeted him. "So really, you brought Bella _here_ and not back to your place?"

"Alice!" Bella scolded her, missing the smirk Edward shot Alice.

"Hey, Alice. Would you mind just getting us a table?"

"_P'shaw!_ I've been saving one for you two, _just in case_." Alice looked around. "We've got this chick singing tonight and I swear she brought her sorority with her. Rowdy crowd over there. That's why I'm sitting you two over here."

Alice showed them to their table and took their orders. She was right. The place was busier than usual. The open mic act had already done one set, according to Alice, and was due to sing again a few more times before the night was over.

Alice returned with their lattes. "I'd love to hear all the details of your date, but it looks like I'll be pretty busy for awhile. I hope I marry rich." Alice called back as she tucked her pen behind her ear and flitted off to another table.

It got later and later, as Edward and Bella sat through two performances by the open mic act and sipped coffee. The night hadn't been much different than the previous Saturday nights they had hung out there, until the moment Edward moved his chair closer to Bella's chair and secured her hand under the table. He looked to her with a small smile to confirm that it was okay, which she returned.

At one point, Bella noticed two guys giving Alice a lot of trouble while she was trying to take their order. Edward looked to see what Bella was paying attention to and witnessed the guys acting a little too friendly, as one was holding onto Alice's arm, insisting she sit down with them.

When Alice got a chance to check in with Bella and Edward, they commented how much busier the place was than usual and asked if everything was going okay.

"What's up with those guys?" Bella asked Alice.

"Ah, you know. Typical CTs." Bella didn't understand . "Closing timers. Drunk jerks," Alice laughed. "I'm used to it. Marcus usually takes care of them, but he's not here tonight."

"Then I will." Edward got up and walked over to the guys. Alice and Bella looked at each other with bulging eyes.

"Oh, hey Edward! It's okay," Alice called out to him, but he had already reached their table.

In a threatening stance, Edward planted one palm on the table and one hand on a chair, leaning close enough that he was eye level with the two guys. "This isn't the second hand pickup place if you didn't score at the bar. See that waitress right there?" Edward nodded toward Alice. "Touch her again and you're out of here, even if I have to throw you out."

"Okay," they mocked. "Be cool. We're just having a little fun."

"Maybe he doesn't realize who we are," the other guy laughed. His voice channeled a thick Boston accent. "I'm Ben Affleck, and this here's my buddy, Matt."

The boys drunk laughed and gave each other a high five.

"Gee, sorry I didn't recognize you." Edward gave them a heavy dose of sarcasm before his voice turned low and menacing. He sternly told them, "Well consider your fun over. Finish your drinks and get out."

"Okay…sorry." They put their hands up. "We didn't know she was your girlfriend."

"She's not." With that Edward walked back to his table with Bella. Alice stood by openmouthed. But never at a loss for words for long, she thanked him and told him she was going to get their check.

Edward had handled things just quietly enough that few people noticed anything was amiss within the café. The singer on stage strummed her guitar and began the introduction of the next song.

"_There are places I remember all my life, ...la la la la la la la la la_

_Some for better."_

She kept strumming her guitar, but her singing stopped. "Well crap," she said. Some of the audience members chuckled and gave her a few mocking claps. "This song is all about remembering moments in your life and I'm struggling to remember the words." She laughed looking around. "Thank goodness you guys are so relaxed. Let's start again."

The singer started again, faltering at the same place.

Edward looked at Bella with that glint in his eyes. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Sure," Bella said, assuming he was going to the bathroom. Instead she watched as he made his way to the stage and spoke softly to the singer. The singer, sitting on a stool, looked up to give him a perfect smile back, like she was binging on his good looks and natural charm. It didn't escape Bella's notice that the singer found a way to touch his arm, too.

The singer strummed her guitar again. "This is Edward, and he's volunteered to help me out. Let's try this again. Shall we?" she looked to him. Edward nodded slightly.

The singer began,

"_There are places I remember, all my life"_

At that time, the singer nodded, gesturing for Edward to participate. He leaned into the microphone and took over with the lyrics.

"_though some have changed__,"_ he crooned.

At the sound of his voice, every girl in the room dropped their conversation and turned to watch him. Alice even lost track of the coffee she was pouring for a second as she turned to watch Edward.

"_Some forever not for better. Some have gone and some remain. _

_All these places have their moments with lovers and friends, _

_I still can recall. _

_Some are dead and some are living. _

_In my life, I've loved them all."_

As the guitar riff played, and Edward stepped back from the microphone, cat calls were heard throughout the café. Alice was the main source for some whistling, while the group of sorority girls in the far right corner sounded off with a loud "_Woooo._"

Bella stared at Edward, mesmerized. She had no idea he could sing. _No idea!_ Not once had he even sung along to a song on the radio while they were in the car. He looked over at her eyes, holding her gaze, as he joined the open mic act in singing the next part.

"_But of all these friends and lovers,_

_there is no one who compares with you. _

_And these memories lose their meaning, _

_when I think of love as something new."_

Edward glanced back at the singer, who was obviously enjoying their duet. She smiled as she shared the microphone with him, but Edward immediately returned his eyes to Bella, the only girl in the room he was singing this song to.

"_Though I know I'll never lose affection_

_of people and things that went before,_

_I know I'll often stop to think about them. _

_In my life, I love you more."_

Bella may have giggled on the outside, but inwardly swooned, as Edward serenaded into the microphone. She marveled at him, smiling at her from onstage.

"_Though I know I'll never lose affection_

_of people and things that went before,_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them._

_In my life…"_

Edward had glanced past Bella to see Alice was back over at the table with the drunk jerks. They looked like they were being over-friendly again and giving her a hard time.

He looked back at Bella to finish the song.

"_I love you more."_

Bella's basking was interrupted.

"HEY!" Alice shrieked loudly, dropping a tray she was holding. One of the guys had slapped her ass, while the other was trying to pull Alice onto his lap. "Oh come now, darling, don't pretend you didn't like that."

The music and singing stopped abruptly. While Edward was still maintaining the attention of most of the girls, some of the patrons had looked over toward Alice standing by the drunk guys' table. Before anyone could even applaud for Edward's rendition of "In my Life," they could hear Alice yelling, "Keep your damn hands to yourself!"

With that Edward rolled his eyes, leaving the stage and marching directly over to the table. He kept his demeanor calm, but his stature grew broader, protective and focused. Alice stepped away just as Edward grabbed the guy by his collar and dragged him toward the door. "I warned you to stop. Now you and Good Will Hunting here need to leave."

Outside, Edward released the drunk guy, telling him he was done for the night. As he turned around to go back inside though, he hadn't realized the drunk guy's friend had followed them out. Without warning, a fist connected to Edward's face, just above his jaw.

"_Ugh!"_ Edward, caught off guard, took the blow - his head forcibly turned away – allowing the guy to get one more punch in, but Edward quickly reclaimed his wits, before charging the guy's midsection and slamming him up against the glass. He secured him to the wall with a strong arm across his chest.

"You like movies?" Edward seethed, his other hand forming a tight fist. He punched him in the gut. "How do you like them apples?"

"Edward!" Bella yelled, as the door of the coffee house flew open. Edward looked over at her and relaxed his fingers, still bound tightly into a fist. He kneed the guy in the crotch causing a loud whimper before releasing him roughly downward onto the pavement. Through gritted teeth Edward spat, "Get out of here." Both of the guys yelled various curses as they limped away.

Edward wrapped his right hand around the back of his neck, and stretched out his neck from side to side, looking away from Bella. _Couple of assholes, _he thought to himself. His mouth opened slightly, and his left hand flew to his jaw in reaction to the pain that was setting in.

"Are you okay?" she asked, desperate concern apparent in her voice. She approached him, reaching her hand up to his face. "Here, let me see."

Edward looked down. "It's fine. No blood or ..."

"Edward," she said firmly enough that it caught his attention. "It's not. Let me take a look," she told him as she approached him gently placed two fingers lightly up to his jaw. He flinched in reaction to her touch, but he couldn't tell if it was in reaction to the pain or her skin against his.

Edward's emotions were all over the place—feeling hostile yet protective, vindicated and frustrated.

He _needed_ her. He needed her to remember him. He needed her to give herself over to him.

As she looked over his face, her other hand came up to rest against his opposing cheek. "Is that sore?" she asked, carefully examining him.

He shook his head _no_ lightly as he stared into her eyes. His hands came to rest on her neck, his long fingers extending as he swallowed harshly, a pained expression on his face. Bella enjoyed the feel of them, warm and rough, against the skin above her sweater.

His palms traveled down her shoulders, before trailing the length of her torso, until he rested his hands on her waist.

"Let's go put some ice on …," Bella whispered, but before she could finish her sentence, Edward had captured her words in his mouth, kissing her as he pressed his body into hers, holding her tightly.

_I don't need ice; I need you_, he thought.

Only the dense, cold air around them suffered, as she found herself readily kissing him back—caught up in consoling him, her body still thrumming from having enjoyed his little singing performance- as they shared warm breath, sighs, and each other.

Edward and Bella remained lost to one another steadily for a good _however-many_ minutes, as she clung to his neck and he pressed her up against the cold glass window.

People started filtering out of the coffee house, but Bella and Edward remained unaffected by their whistles and cat calls. It wasn't until Alice stuck her head out of the door calling, "Hey, you two" that Edward and Bella had fully ended their passionate exchange and became aware of their surroundings.

Alice was holding up an ice pack. Edward looked over at Alice, then took [_a slightly lightheaded_] Bella's hand, and led her back inside.

"You didn't have to do that," Alice told Edward as she handed him the bag of ice on his way through the door. "But thank you."

"I know, but someone had to," he replied, adding in _it was worth it _only to himself. "I'll cover their bill," he smiled, then winced at the pain it caused. He reached into his back pocket, pulling a hundred out of his wallet that he handed Alice. "Here, this should settle both bills. Keep the change."

Edward sat icing his jaw as the singer packed up her guitar and extra percussion pieces. Alice was elated in the drama of her Saturday shift, and thanked Bella for bringing Edward in that evening. She pulled Bella aside, adding that he had her approval, if that meant anything to Bella when deciding how _involved_ to get with him—tonight or in the future. Alice, of course, said it all lightheartedly, to which Bella laughed. It was like Alice needed her own big stamp that read 'Alice Approved' that she could stamp on her Edward paperwork.

Bella returned to the table and was met with Edward asking her, "Ready?" She nodded and they put their coats on, giving Alice a quick wave.

"Is she going to be okay to get home?" Edward asked, just as Bella spotted Riley entering through the glass door.

"I think so," Bella answered, watching as she saw Alice's face light up. He walked right up to her, addressed her with a "_hey, babe!" _picked her up and spun her around.

"Put me down. I'm working!" The sound of Alice's laughter followed them out the door.

On the ride back to her condo, Edward had asked Bella who that guy was with Alice and asked if Felix was out of the picture. "Or was he never really in the picture?"

"Alice has some sort of system." Bella shrugged. "Apparently it works for all parties involved. Just like _you_ have a system."

"A system?" Edward asked, confused.

"Yeah, a system of how to get a girl outside and kiss her mid date." She grinned at him coyly, letting him know she wasn't unappreciative of the course of events. Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah well, doing that type of thing at the beginning of the date is a little forward. And waiting til the end of the date is a little cliché, don't you think?" he posed.

"Definitely, very cliché," she agreed, hoping she hadn't insulted him in any way. "So Edward Cullen, the coffee-house-fight champion, I had no idea you could sing. You've really been holding back on me."

Edward laughed at her turning his joke around on him. "Did I surprise you?"

"Uhh, yeah!" she exclaimed.

"Good, maybe I'll surprise you again soon," he said, while a small plan formed in the back of his mind.

"I think I'd like that," she quietly told Edward before turning to look out the window. This morning's pep talk, brought to her by her new best friends, resurfaced. Edward hadn't even flinched at her story about the accident or her ex-boyfriend. He wasn't freaked out and instead offered her comfort. And he looked _**hoTT**_ in those jeans.

They were back at her condo in no time. Edward parked the car. They undid their seatbelts but made no move to leave the car.

"We're here," Edward said turning to his side and leaning back against his seat. He winced at how tender his jaw was when it reached the headrest.

"Oh does that hurt still?" Bella leaned toward him, her fingers reaching out to his face. Edward closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, savoring the feel of her skin on his skin. She moved her thumb to his chin, pressing in slightly just at the cleft. Her fingers rested upon his uninjured cheek timidly as her concentration moved from his chiseled jawline to the curve of his mouth. Her thumb followed her gaze, gently gliding along his bottom lip then continuing to outline his entire mouth.

She pulled in the lower bottom corner of her lip, biting down slightly with her teeth in thoughtless contemplation as she chanced up into his now-open eyes.

"You're gonna need to ice that some more. I have ice."

His head bobbed slightly in agreement.

"And probably should take some Advil. I have Advil."

He nodded again in understanding.

"And you might need chapstick."

Edward was too caught up in the attention Bella was giving him, the suggestions he was hearing her imply. _Chapstick? Why am I going to need…._

Slowly she inched her face to his, her fingers stilled tentatively at the stubble on his cheek. Less than a fingerbreadth away, she studied his mouth, as her chin lifted, then fell, and tilted slightly, _hesitantly_, until she pressed her lips to his.

Edward watched as he recognized that look in her eyes—the longing.

She kissed him slowly and carefully, lovingly seeking to comfort and experience him all at the same time. He stayed passive, under her spell, without give and take. It was all give on his end, as he allowed her to take whatever she needed from him.

As she pulled away, she knew there was no _just one date_.

He was still staring at her, hopeful about what her heart desired at that moment.

"Hey Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever think that maybe you survived the accident for a reason?" _To be with me…_

"Maybe," she replied quietly. "Will you walk me up?"

"Sure," he said, fairly certain he wasn't ready for this night to end yet. They both got out of the car and met in front of it where he took her hand in his, softly, as they crossed the lot and took the concrete steps up to her door. Bella unlocked the door and opened it slightly. She was just about to ask him if he wanted to come in when she heard what could only be described as violent heaving accompanied by exasperated crying.

"Ang?" Bella called out. "Angela? You okay?"

"_No!_"

"Ut oh! Stay here for a sec, okay?" Bella asked of Edward. Bella went inside to find Angela hunched over the toilet bowl. "Did you drink too much?" Bella laughed.

"No. I'm sick."

"Oh no. Okay. Let me see if we have any Ginger Ale left. I'll be right back."

Bella returned to find Edward just inside the foyer. She let him know that her roommate was sick.

"Uh yeah," Edward felt a little embarrassed to admit, "I heard. I guess you really _do_ have a roommate, or you and your friends have a really elaborate scheme to end a date."

Bella's hand landed on his chest as she laughed at him. She removed it and stuck out her thumb slightly in the direction of the hall behind her as she told him she was sorry but that she should probably just call it a night and try to take care of Angela.

Edward took a step back outside as he adjusted his pants and laughed at how banner of a night it had been. "That's alright. I know if I spent more time with you tonight, I'd want to kiss you more, and my face hurts like a motherfucker right now."

Bella laughed before teasing him. "We can't have it hurt you to kiss me, now can we?"

She took a step closer, inward, closing the space between them. He shifted his weight. Edward wanted to tell her that he would endure death just to kiss her—that he had once-but now wasn't the time.

He crooked his finger, using his knuckle to tilt her chin up as he shook his head 'no.' She instinctively parted her lips, ready for more Edward.

"No, we can't have that." He leaned down and connected his lips with hers. Lightly but firmly, [_soreness in his jaw be damned_] his tongue swept through her mouth as he kissed her goodnight.

"It would hurt me more not to kiss you," he confessed in a whisper before giving her one more quick peck on the lips.

_Good Cullen, _he thought to himself_._

"Ice and Advil," she instructed him as he turned to go back to his car. "And chapstick," she added in for good measure. He turned back to look at her and shook his head as he smiled out of giddiness. He was all too eager to read between the lines that she not only cared for him, but also wanted to see him again.

It was all working. This was all happening, not in that immediate way he had originally thought things would play out. _But_…one step taken at a time, one page turned at a time, their story was continuing.

Bella sighed as she reached her hand back for the door knob, struggling to grasp at it. And when she finally did have a hold of it, as she was intently watching him descend the stairs, she tripped on the edge of the doormat slightly while stepping backward into the condo.

_Him, _she thought while righting herself. _Edward Cullen._

_~x~_

_A/n: **sigh** Hope you enjoyed. You can youtube 'In my Life' by The Beatles. It's just one of those songs you need to hear every now and then! And the thought of Robward singing it? *THUD*_

_Super thanks to SassyKassie (her story banners on my profile page) for giving this a once over! __The idea to go to a pumpkin/apple picking was TwiWeasels and kickass!_

_You guys knew it...Bella needed to have the experience of falling for Edward in the here and now. _

_Anything you need to know? My hubby approved of my inclusion of The Beatles. Harry Potter reference for the hell of it, yes there is such a thing as apple cider donuts-yum!, you think HCW messed with your mind? then read Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' yikes!, Hibachi grill chefs really do toss food into your mouth, Good Will Hunting, not my fav movie but a good connection for my purposes I hope. _

_Be good, _

_kiTT :)_


	14. Just the Way You Like'em

**A/n: And there was that collective _sigh of relief_ heard 'round the fandom' (okay like in 0.075% of the fandom who reads this story) last week when you confirmed it was indeed Edward at the door. The events of the date seemed to go over really well with you guys. I'm so, so glad! **

**If Edward seems extra swoony we can thank Jack Wagner for returning to his role of Frisco Jones (one of my early imaginary boyfriends who sang) on General Hospital after 20 years because he is just winning my heart over...All. Over. Again! Sorry Macob! *snickers*It'll always be him!**

**Seasoned FF reader, roxiegirl, told me last chapter was one of the best she's ever read in FF. *_CRIES_* She couldn't have meant in ALL OF FF LAND EVER, right? If so, that's a pretty massive compliment to me and the TwiWeasel. Speaking of which, than****ks to the beta-snowbunny, the loverly TwiWeasel. **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight characters. Recognizable dialogue credited to SM, Melissa Rosenberg, and Will Fetters (occasionally). **

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait, **

no longer

**~xXx~**

Just the Way You Like'em

**~x~**

The next morning, an ecstatic Alice called Bella from an undisclosed location.

"Hey there, Swannie. How was your date last night?" she half teased in a low raspy voice.

"Hi, Alice," Bella said in a way to diffuse her friend, but there was no diffusing Alice.

"Or is it still going on? Am I interrupting anything?" Alice asked before sing-songing, "Bow chicka wow, wow!"

"It's long over, Alice. And doesn't every first date end with a swollen jaw?"

"Well, as long as it wasn't you who caused the swollen jaw. I still can't believe he did that. Um, and did you happen to see the tip your boyfriend gave me?"

"No, how much?"

"Trust me, it was too much. Maybe you can find a way to thank him for me," Alice said suggestively followed by her snickering. "You guys are coming back next Saturday, right?"

"I'm sure I will be, but I don't know about him. And he's not my boyfriend, Alice."

"Oh right. So _just one date_ and now it's over? I think that open-mic chick is scheduled to sing again Friday night. If she brings her friends again, I'll let them all know he's available."

Bella didn't have an answer for that. He had kissed her. _Again._ And she liked it. _Again._ She liked him.

"You wouldn't! Don't you dare do that! I don't know what it is." Bella paused. "The only thing I know for sure is that I've got a paper to finish today." Bella hesitated. "And the timing just seems really off, Alice. I think I'm going to be buried this week. Maybe I'll be comatose by Saturday night…" Bella told herself that the last part wasn't really funny.

"Bella?" Alice sensed Bella was stalling. "What happened last night?"

"He kissed me," she whispered.

"And?"

"I kissed him," Bella admitted.

"Well I saw all that. What else happened?"

"We kissed more. And that's all, because when I got home, I found Angela slumped over the toilet."

"Oh crap! Alice laughed but expressed concern. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she actually thought she was sick, but I think she just ate some bad fish."

"Ugh! That's why I do not eat seafood. No matter how fresh they _claim_ it is!"

Bella laughed. "I doubt she'll be eating any more of it for a while."

"Wait a second! What did finding Angela that way have to...?" Alice gasped loudly. "You were going to ask him to stay over, weren't you?"

Bella's phone beeped. Edward's name flashed across the screen, winning a smile from her.

"Hey Alice. It's him."

"You were! You little slut! Fine. Take it! Take it! But call me back!"

"Good, because I want to hear about Riley."

"Fine, fine. Call me later!"

Bella clicked over. "Hello?" she asked, trying to hide her excitement.

"Good morning," he said enthusiastically.

His voice always sounded different on the phone than in person. On the phone, his voice rang through like a memory of a dream. In person, his presence and smile overshadowed the sound of his voice.

"Hi," she giggled. "You've already been out for a run, haven't you?"

"Yep. Are you up for some breakfast?"

"Umm, well I already ate."

"Oh. Are you sure? Because I know how to make pancakes and, thanks to a very pretty girl I know, I have a measuring cup and a flap jack flipper… _thingy_."

Bella laughed at his terminology. "You mean a spatula?"

"Okay, we'll go with your _sophisticated_ version. Everyone there feeling better this morning?"

"Yeah. I think my roommate just had food poisoning. She got everything out of her system and finally went to sleep."

"Ah. It happens."

"How's your jaw?"

"Still swollen, but not as bruised as my ego would be if you aren't coming over for pancakes. I'll put M&M's in them, just the way you like'em."

"Why would you think that? I mean, I do like M&Ms in them, but…"

"You're serious? Any grad student that still has to have rainbow sprinkles on her ice cream cone is probably going to like M&Ms in her pancakes."

Bella laughed at his attempt. "Well that is some brilliant – and observant – deductive thinking on your part. No wonder you were accepted into Harvard, _Harvard._" Bella laughed then turned serious. "But Edward, I really can't be tempted with pancakes this morning. I have midterms this week that I have to study for."

_Crap!_ So did he. While the date had meant a lot to him, he hoped she wasn't entirely serious about having 'just one date.' He hadn't quite accomplished as much as he had hoped with her last night, and she still hadn't given him any indication that she remembered anything from the meadow. He barely had gotten her to admit anything about her hospital stay, and yet there was something he felt like she was holding back from him.

"Have dinner with me tonight then," he persisted, adding, "at my place."

Bella threw her head back and bit her bottom lip in contemplation. She felt _so_ torn.

"I can't," she said apologetically, before offering up, "Alice said thanks again for helping out last night. She wanted to know if we were coming back this Saturday. I told her yes."

"Saturday? I'm going to be there if you're going to be there, but that's a week away." _That's too long,_ he thought. "When are you going to be on campus?"

Edward and Bella compared their schedules for the week. They finally agreed that they would both be in the same area on Wednesday at about 2 pm. Because they would be close to the building where orientation had been held, they decided to meet for coffee.

"So, I guess I'll meet you at our bench?" he asked.

"We have a bench?" Bella giggled. "Sounds good. I'll see you then."

She sounded like she was ready to disconnect the call. "Oh, Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"If I had picked you up at a bar, I would have talked to you the next day. Like I'm doing now." Edward smiled to himself before adding, "Or maybe over breakfast."

"Oh," Bella said, thinking about the conversation they had in the car and how he had made her feel that day.

"I had a good time yesterday."

Bella smiled, "Did that all really happen?"

Edward panicked for a second. "Uhh…I hope so because _I_ was there. And _you _were there."

Bella laughed. "It was kind of a joke, in reference to it being called Goodman Brown farms. Maybe you didn't read that story."

"Oh, right. Because of the whole….Yeah, got it now. For a minute I thought…"

"You thought what?" Bella teased. "_That I had forgotten? How could I have forgotten you? Us? How we fell in love in our meadow. I remember everything Edward, everything._"

"Edward? Edward? Oh shit I must have lost him. Stupid phone!"

Edward shook those words out of his head — those were the words he _wanted_ to hear, not what she actually said. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Oh good! Well in case my cell flakes out again, I wanted you to know I had a great time with you, too, _Harvard_. But right now, I really need to get back to this paper I'm working on...so…enjoy your pancakes."

"Bye, Bella. After you hang up, check outside your door."

He smiled to himself imagining the look on her face and ended the call thinking how he loved it when she called him 'Harvard.'

Bella hung up the phone and made her way to the door. She peeked through the keyhole, wondering if there was any possible way he was standing outside. She undid the locks and opened the door to find a box with a foam take-out container inside. Quickly closing the door behind her, she carried it to the kitchen and hastily opened it to find pancakes. _With_ M&Ms.

She shook her head in amusement. _How'd he?_ He'd already been there?

She ran back to the door, throwing it open and looking down the corridor and stairs. Then she checked the ramp. No one.

She returned to her kitchen. The container was still warm, and the lovely aroma of pancakes surrounded her. The pancakes were colorful from the M&Ms and came with a small container of syrup on the side.

She sent off a quick text to Edward.

**Thank you for the pancakes.**

Edward responded immediately.

**Are they still warm?**

She responded.

**Yes! How did you do that? **

Edward hesitated for a few seconds before responding.

**Magic trick. Want to see more?**

Bella laughed.

**Sure. Bring your wand on Wednesday.**

Edward about choked on the coffee he was drinking when he read her text.

Bella realized the possibility of misconstrued dirtiness of what she sent back to him so hastily and face-palmed herself. Edward and his typical sexual innuendos was not going to let that one go without a response. The muscles in her cheeks tensed, and she braced herself for his response.

He responded one last time.

**Enjoy the pancakes.**

_That was unexpectedly mature of him_, she thought.

~x~

~x~

**A/n:** _Mmmmmm_...I know what I'm making for breakfast this weekend!

And looks like Edward had his own imaginary 'ice cream moment.'

If anyone is still in the Valentine's Day mood, check out this Valentine's Day one shot. No lemons, but kind of a fun coming-of-age story - a whole lot of story, actually.

"I'll Bring the Wine" by JunieMT (Why can't FF let you leave a link, anymore?) s/5728821/1/I-ll-Bring-the-Wine


	15. Coffee Date

**A/n: Hope you all enjoyed your Breaking Dawn Part 2 DVD viewings! Mine might have delayed my posting schedule. You see, I had a project going on last week, of utmost importance: refinishing a tv entertainment unit in time for setting up the flatscreen for watching BD2 OriginalWard and his fine looking, sparklepuff-inducing sexy self! And...I made an Edward Cullen SPARKLE cake. I'll be putting pictures and the recipe up on my blog if you want to see what that yummy goodness is all about. There's a diet version of it too if that's a concern, so you really can have your Cakeward and eat him too! ;)**

**Thanks to TwiWeasel for beta-ing this! Both the TwiWeasel and TongueTwied families ate some yummy M&M pancakes over the past week. Did you too? **

**Thanks to all of you for reading, reviewing, and reccommending! **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight characters and dialogue.**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Coffee Date**

~x~

On Monday evening, Edward and Bella had exchanged brief texts about their days and tests and professors.

On Tuesday, Bella didn't hear from Edward at all.

On Wednesday morning, he sent her a text to confirm their coffee date and was relieved when she told him she would see him there.

Edward made his way to their bench by 1:50 pm. As difficult as it had been, he really was trying to balance the amount of time he needed to devote to his studies _this week,_ of all weeks. He hadn't thought it was possible to have Bella on his mind even more than he had prior to the date. It's just that now he knew there wouldn't be that weekly contact with her for therapy, and the uncertainty of when he could spend time with her alone next was killing him. But, as always, he had his father's words in the back of his mind telling him that he was at Harvard for more reasons than just Bella. He didn't want to blow his classes, so he did the responsible thing and studied, occasionally finding himself daydreaming of the expression on Bella's face this upcoming Saturday night. He'd finally come up with a _sure way_ to unlock the memories that were trapped within her.

As he approached the area, he saw her clearly. She was already there, waiting for him, just like she had always been in the meadow, only more appropriately bundled up in a hat and matching scarf.

He approached her excitedly, until it hit - his heart-pounding when he sensed that he was walking into that early-in-a-relationship _awkward_ moment.

When two people have gone on a date and shared a passionate exchange, those first few moments of their next meeting can be riddled with a mix of uncertainty and desire. Smiles are present to indicate happiness in seeing each other—a heightened happiness, even, knowing they have shared something with each other. Acute awareness of each other's lips as territory they had been allowed permission to explore and a ready-to-burst need driving them to revisit those lips as soon as possible, perhaps even on sight.

She stood up anxiously when she caught a glimpse of him approaching. He increased the length of his stride until he was standing merely inches from her. And there they stood in the midst of that moment of greeting. Not that either of them were uncertain about what each _wanted,_ just unsure about what the _other_ wanted.

Words?

A hug?

A kiss?

Outstretched hands led to a quick, awkward hug as they both said _hi _to each other.

"Bella…you and I have uhh,…" He had brought his thumb up to her face, honing in on her mouth with his eyes, as he licked his lips barely able to hold himself back.

His words were quick like he was already out of breath. "_Can I_…?"

Edward could barely finish his request, so it was a good thing Bella was putty in his hands, as she nodded an approving _yes _to him. He let his messenger bag slide off his shoulder and fall to the ground, bringing his other hand up to her face. He smoothed the skin by the corner of her mouth outwardly with his thumb as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed away the awkward moment until he was fully satisfied in feeling he had re-established the connection he had felt with her on Saturday night.

"How's your jaw?" she smiled and asked as he ended the kiss.

"Better now," he breathed as he rested his forehead to hers. He smiled, contemplating more he wanted to say to her—how much he's missed her, how much he didn't want their date to end the other night. "You want coffee, Harvard?" he asked with a grin.

"Well that's why I'm here." Bella smiled up at him innocently. "Just for a caffeine fix."

In reaction to her words, Edward wrapped his arm around her waist and wildly jerked her close to him. "Just for coffee?"

With a whimsical laugh she told him, "Nope. I needed a break, too." Edward tightened his grip around her and lifted her up off the ground. He turned in a circle, taking her for a spin. Bella's head fell backwards as she continued to laugh until Edward placed her feet back down on the ground.

"I think you know why I'm here," she told him in a low voice. Edward wanted to tell her that he didn't know the reason as much as he felt it, and he wanted to hear her say the same-that she felt it, too. He wanted to tell her that he was here for his _Bella-fix._ But for now, her being there with him was enough.

"I'll be right back." Edward turned to go get the coffee from the coffee cart. Bella sighed as she sat back down on their bench and intensely watched him walk away. Her eyes followed the shifting of his weight as he stood in line in his black jeans. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed the cool air in deeply.

Over coffee they discussed their papers, midterms, and what other kinds of pancakes they liked. Bella was adamant that her schedule was full and that she would be bogged down until Saturday night despite how much Edward tried to get her to fit in dinner, coffee, an early run, a study-break ice cream cone, anything he could think of.

"How about we meet for a pre-test Red Bull?" He continued to try to entice her in a joking way with his crooked smile.

"Nope," Bella laughed.

"Fine, if I can't persuade you otherwise, then promise me that we'll be hitting the coffee house this Saturday night because I've been working on that surprise for you."

"Hmm, well, you're pretty good with surprises, so yeah, I think that'll be good."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Bella laughed.

Edward stuck his pinky out. "Pinky swear?"

Bella laughed more. "Oh my God, you are relentless! And like twelve!"

Edward turned his head away from her, waiting to feel her pinky to slide against his. "Do it! Come on, Harvard! Pinky swear it! You've got to!"

Bella kept laughing as she gathered up her bag, tossed her coffee cup in a nearby trash can and slowly backed away from their bench. "See you Saturday, Edward!"

He had turned around and saw her fingers in the air, waving goodbye to him.

"I have to go! Thanks for coffee, Harvard," she called to him as she happily walked away. "Wish me luck on my test."

"Bye. Good luck," Edward relented, his tone not hiding that he wasn't ready to let her go, but at least now he was certain he would see her Saturday.

He watched as she walked off but then she stopped, turned toward him, and held up her phone, showing it to him.

He pulled out his phone just as a text came in from her.

**Pinky swear. **

_That was different, _he thought.

~x~

A/n: A promise is a promise. :) And what could Edward's surprise be? Hmmm...

I'm headed off to read **Just Say Yes** by Bleriana of the cold shower blog, a little overdue, (aye yay yay story of my life) but in case you haven't read, she named the first title "Harvard Can Wait" after my story (yay!) and gives both me and 17ForeverLisa credit for encouraging her to write. Wait...wait, well if you call 'credit' blame then, ya know, _credit_.

be good,

kiTT :)


	16. Surprises

**A/n: ****Harvard Ladies in Waiting, some of you were missing last chapter. :( I missed you! This was one tricky chapter to tackle. There was a lot of back and forth between me and the TwiWeasel who has been super busy too. So _thanks again_ to her for all her help and how she just 'gets' this story and really acts as the reader's advocate, championing the plot for _you guys_. **

Thank you for all the reviews on last chapter! From what I remember, everyone is really looking forward to Edward's surprise, so let's get to it! *jumpy claps*

Three quick reminders: (Number 1) So many of you said you wish my chapters were longer. This is long. (Number 2) As mentioned in HCW, Tyler Crowley was one of Edward's friends in high school. (and C) _**You know all the love for this story and the characters you guys talk about in reviews? Hold onto that...cling tightly...**_

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg's characters and dialogue. **

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

_no longer_

~xXx~

**Surprises**

~x~

"Mmmm, that smells so good!" Bella inhaled the air deeply in the kitchen.

It was Saturday, late afternoon, when Bella had been in the kitchen making herself and Angela some hot tea to have with a slice of apple crisp Angela had just taken out of the oven.

"I know! I haven't had this in awhile, either!," Angela answered. "Glad my mom was home to give me the recipe. We still have an awful lot of apples left, though." Angela laughed.

Having left her phone in her bedroom, Bella heard the faint ringing just as she was pouring the hot water.

"Go see what he had to say. I'll finish the tea," Angela said, smiling because she knew it was probably Edward.

Bella took to her bedroom and mindlessly hit the voicemail button as she switched it over to speakerphone and tossed the phone lightly onto her bed, deciding to hang up a few shirts she had still sitting in a laundry basket.

"Hey, Bella. Uhhh, it's me. I've just…I've been having a really rough time. And, I decided I need to see you …"

The words of the message continued on as Bella felt the blood leave her face. The shirt she was about to hang in her closet fell to floor, joining the skeletons that had just surfaced. Her stomach churned in two directions. She mentally checked out halfway through the voicemail and had to force herself to listen to it again.

"So what time is he coming to pick you up? Bella, what is it?" Angela asked as she approached Bella's room to bring her the cup of tea. "Whoa! You look like you've seen a ghost. Uh no! Don't tell me he canceled on you!"

"He's coming here to see me." Bella's words were spoken gravelly as she tried to swallow over the uninvited lump in her throat.

"Okay. What time?"

Angela gave Bella a minute to work through whatever was going on that made her look the way she did.

"What?" Bella asked, realizing she had missed Angela's question.

"What time is Edward coming over?"Angela continued to be patient with Bella. "I want to know if I'm going to be here when he gets here this time."

"Oh," Bella hesitated. "That wasn't Edward."

"Then who was it I heard saying he was coming to see you?"

"Oh God. Shit! Shit! Shit!" Bella's hand slapped her forehead.

"Bella, what is it? What's wrong?"

"_Uhhh_...That was Mike."

"Okay. Bella I'm losing at this game here. Who's Mike?"

"Mike…he's…" Bella sighed but looked at Angela's kind but expectant face and relented. In a quick pace, Bella blurted out, "Mike is the guy I'd be planning a wedding with right now if I wasn't here…"

"Oh my God! _What?_ You've been engaged this whole time?"

"_No_!"

"Is there a ring? Let me see it! I wanna see the ring!"

"No! He's just…_ugh_," Bella's hands fisted in frustration. "He's a long, long story. And this is the last thing I need after this week."

Angela glanced at her watch. "Is this a story you're willing to share?"

"Sure…why not?" Bella threw her hands up in defeat.

"Oh goodie! Then I say screw the tea! My delicious apple crisp can wait until later. Why don't we go over to _**Aro's**_ and you can tell me about it there over a beer. I really want to hear all about it, but I'm starving for more than apple crisp. And something tells me you could use a drink or two in you to tell _this_ story. Would I be correct?"

Before Bella could give Angela an answer of agreement, she was on the phone with a cab company requesting a cab.

Once they were at the bar, Bella insisted to Angela that she's only going to have one drink because she is supposed to meet up with Edward and Alice at the coffee house that night. Angela pouted that she had her study group that night.

Bella started out with a beer while Angela ordered a vodka and cranberry.

"I think I'm going to have a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich. I'm done with fish."

Bella laughed. "I don't blame you. I think I'll try one too. I've never had."

"Really? I think you're gonna love it!" The waiter took their orders and returned with a second round of drinks. Angela pointed back and forth between the drinks as she told the waiter, "Umm, we didn't order these."

"They are compliments of the gentleman in the cowboy boots at the bar, though as a disclaimer, I'll say that I use that term 'gentleman' loosely."

Angela giggled and glanced over to see a dirty blond-haired guy at the bar-his hair gelled up in the middle. He raised his glass in salutation to them, flashing a cunning smile. Angela smiled back at him, admiring his cool and relaxed style of jeans, button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and cowboy boots. Bella was too distracted to bother to look. The waiter left the drinks and took their order.

"So why haven't you told us about this guy?"

"_Why?_ Because, I've just been trying to forget him? Because I thought I was really secure in my decision to have broken it off with him."

"And now, you're not?"

"It's just…I want to talk to him, but he hasn't taken any of my phone calls. And now he wants to talk in person? I'm not sure if I can face him yet. There were things that happened that I never told him about. I looked into his eyes and basically lied to him."

She thought back to the day when she realized she was in the hospital, waking up confused. She remembered telling him, "_Mike, I'm so happy to see you."_

Telling Edward about her car accident and subsequent breakup had been a dress rehearsal that went well. She was finally ready to trust her new friendships and admit more about her life just prior to coming to Harvard. Part of that was because of how easy Edward had made it to open up, and the other part was how well she got along with both Angela and Alice. Bella took the time to explain to Angela how she was on her way to meet Mike's family that morning and ended up with a broken leg, amongst other internal injuries. The thick fog that morning that obstructed her view of the road. The subsequent accident. Waking up in the hospital. Finding out she had flat lined.

"Oh Bella, I had no idea. Alice and I both thought you just were on the clumsy side and were embarrassed to tell us you fell down a flight of stairs or something. But this! Wow!"

"I didn't want to be _Bella the charity case_. I wanted to just make friends with people as _Bella_. It was bad enough the cast I had to wear and crutches. It was like wearing a Scarlett A on my chest that announced to the whole world certain things about me before anyone ever got a chance to know me. You remember that night we went out to a few bars, and how many guys asked me what had happened..."

"But on top of all that, you showed up here with a broken heart. I wish I knew. I would have ..."

"That's the thing…" Bella's phone rang. She looked at her caller ID and saw it was Edward.

"What? Oh my God. Is it him again?"Angela said with expectant eyes. "Is he here...at our condo?"

"No, it's Edward." Bella put up her finger and answered her phone with a cheery voice. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself," he answered in his smooth deep voice that was a welcome pleasantry in Bella's ear. "How's your day been?"

"Umm, I'd say it's had its up and downs."

Angela gestured that she was going to go talk to the guy at the bar who had bought them the drinks.

"Are we still on for the coffee house tonight?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Good. You didn't forget about the surprise I told you about, did you?"

"Umm, hmm, tell me what is and I'll tell you that I didn't forget about it," Bella giggled.

"Nice try. You'll see tonight. I spent a little time today getting it ready. What time should I pick you up?"

Bella looked over at Angela, who was talking to the guy at the bar, surprised at how flirty and friendly she was being.

"Well, actually, Angela and I are out right now getting a bite to eat and kind of having a girl talk. Do you mind if I just meet you there?"

Edward was hesitant, a little crestfallen. The thought of another opportunity to encourage the memories tonight with what he had in mind had kept him looking forward to tonight all week.

"Sure. What time will I see you there?"

Bella looked above the bar at the clock on the wall. It was only 6:30 pm. She knew she'd finish up soon and could just drop Angela off at home, change, and then take the cab over to the coffee house to meet him there. "Around eight?"

"Sounds good. As long as you're going to let me drive you home."

"You're my chauffer," she giggled again.

"See you in a bit, beautiful."

Bella blushed to hear him call her that. "Bye, Harvard." She ended the call, setting her phone down next to her and not realizing it slipped onto the booth's green vinyl seat when Angela returned, excitedly planting herself down next to Bella with an intentional bumping into her.

"Hey! _That guy_ over there is totally hot and he's got an accent. I gave him my number." Angela grinned widely.

"You think so, Ang?" Bella asked as she stretched her neck out to see him. "Yeah, not bad."

"Okay so where were we?" Angela asked, just as the waiter brought out their food. She jumped up to take her seat opposite Bella at the booth.

Over dinner, Bella launched back into the story about Mike—the where and how of their meeting at college. The breakups and makeups along the way.

"So now after not taking my phone calls, what…he thinks he is just going to show up here?" Bella took a long pull of her second beer, finishing it.

"Did you call him back and tell him not to?" Angela asked.

"I only got his voicemail. I already told him that I needed to talk to him before he did anything rash. But I know him, damn it!" Feeling a little uninhibited, Bella threw her head from side to side dramatically and loudly proclaimed, "He'll show up and just complicate things for me."

"Who's going to complicate things for you? Hopefully, not me." The guy from the bar was suddenly standing there with the waiter and three shot glasses filled with yellow liquid.

Angela and Bella looked up at him, surprised.

"Hello ladies. I couldn't help but notice what an intense conversation you've all got going on here. I thought maybe we could do a shot together to lighten things up. Maybe make things less complicated. Live a little, the way you ought to on a Saturday night."

The waiter handed out the shots. "This is _Limoncello_."

"Oh, I don't think so…" Bella was trying to get out of the shot while Angela batted her eyelashes at their guest and thanked him. The waiter left the table.

"An apple a day and a lemon each night…" their guest suggested with a smile holding up his glass. "That's what I always say."

"Oh come on, Bella. Just do one shot me," Angela coaxed her, trying to signal Bella with her eyes that she was enjoying their guest's attention.

The dirty blond put out his hand to Bella, and Bella shook it. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Demetri, though people call me _Brewley_ because I like a good brew. Let's drink to making new friends." He held up his shot glass. Angela raised her glass and one eyebrow, looking expectantly to Bella until she relented and raised her glass. "Cheers," Demetri said, as he clinked his glass with each of theirs.

The three downed their shots before thanking Demetri.

"Thank you for allowing me to interrupt, ladies. How about another round in a bit?" He returned to the bar and began scrolling through his phone.

Both girls shook off the taste in their mouths left by the shot with a "_Whew!" _then gulped down water. "Bitey!" Bella said.

Bella sat quietly for a minute, deeply thinking over her situation after finishing the shot. "The thing about Mike, is that in his mind we were already engaged. He referred to me as his fiancée long before he actually proposed to me. He was always pushing for the future, while I was dragging my feet in the present. It wasn't until I woke up in the hospital that I was really ready for a future, _my _future."

Soon Bella and Angela found themselves in receipt of another round of shots. Bella was so worked up emotionally over telling her story that she didn't hesitate this time, downing the shot before Demetri had a chance to make his way to the table.

Bella continued on with her story in front of Demetri, revealing more details about Mike and the plans they had made for their future, but she began to slur more and more.

Demetri excused himself to allow the ladies to finish their chat promising he'd be back with another round in a bit.

When Bella stopped talking, she realized the room was spinning about her.

"Bella, are you okay?"

Bella shook her head _no. _"It's so hot in heeeere. Air. I need it." She was fanning herself sloppily.

Angela flagged the waiter down and handed him her credit card. "Here, I'm just going to take my friend outside for a minute for some air and then I'll be right back to sign the receipt."

Angela grabbed their purses that sat on the table and guided Bella through the bar. The booths had been at the back, and the bar area had filled up since they had arrived. "Ohhh," Bella moaned as her hand flew to her forehead once they stepped outside. "This isn't going to be good."

"Are you going to be sick?" Angela asked as she pulled out her phone and called for a cab.

Their new friend, Demetri, emerged from the bar, having seen them making their way outside. "Hey there, where's everyone going so soon? I thought we were due another round."

"My friend here had two beers before those shots and no meat in her system, so I think it might have hit her a little quicker than she expected. I better get her home."

"Ah, I see," he answered with a little concern.

"Can you stay with her for a minute while I go settle the tab?"

"Sure."

Angela disappeared back into the bar to pay the bill. Bella faltered slightly, to which Demetri caught her. "Easy, there. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to drink liquor after beer sweetheart? You know that little rhyme? Beer before liquor, never sicker."

"Is that what I did wrong?" Bella laughed.

"Well you're not going to be up for much tonight. Maybe your friend will be though. I've never had a blow job I didn't like."

Even drunk, Bella was repulsed by his comment. "Ugh, no way Ang is gonna touch you."

Angela reappeared just before the cab pulled up. The entire time Bella kept pointing at Demetri but couldn't form the words to report what he had said to her.

"Bye, Bye sweethearts," Demetri waved in a teasing way, pleased with himself but annoyed that all of his _hard work_ and money seemed to go to waste since he was the one left behind.

Angela helped Bella upstairs and into the condo, where Bella didn't even make it into her room. She crashed hard onto the couch.

~x~

"My usual to go, Alice," Felix said.

Felix hadn't been in the coffee house in a over a week, so Alice was kind of relieved that Edward made his way over to say hello as she was pouring him his to-go coffee.

"Hey Felix, how's it going?" Edward said putting his hand out. "It's been a while."

"Edward, hey, not bad." Felix shook his hand.

"You must be headed into work?" Edward asked.

"Yep. Thanks Alice," he said holding out the money to her, and she walked off to deposit the cash in the register.

"So, things over with you two?" Edward nodded his head over toward Alice's direction.

"Ahh," Felix waved Edward off. "She's a great girl to hang out with but Ms. Thing just has a lot going on. She's more a mover and shaker while I'm more low key. But, it's all good. I knew that about her the minute I met her. If she needs me, she knows I'll always be there for her. Hey, did you ever find a roommate?"

"Uh, no, why? You know someone looking for a place?"

Felix shook his head. "Yeah, me," he laughed. "My roommates…ah, they're asshats some days. I don't know what I'm doing, but if I get sick of them, maybe I'll give you a call?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Cool. Alright dude, I'll get out of here. Got an 8 o'clock shift." Felix waved over to Alice. "See ya, Al."

Alice turned to send him off with a wave before making her way back over to Edward. "What was that about?" she asked him.

Filled with that _I'm-the-king-__of-the-world_ feeling because he expected Bella to walk through that door at any minute, Edward grinned smugly at Alice, before teasing her in a sibling way, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Alice rolled her eyes and walked away.

~x~

"Bella?" Angela asked again with no answer. "Are you going to be okay if I go out to my study group? I'm leaving a bucket here by the couch. You'll probably feel better if you puke out all the alcohol."

Angela had barely covered Bella with a blanket when her phone rang.

~x~

"Have you heard from her?" Edward asked Alice as she poured him another cup of coffee. He looked at the time on his phone. It was almost 9:30 pm.

"Not yet. I'm sure she's coming, though. You did a nice job up there singing."

"Thanks," he said distracted. What good was singing if Bella wasn't there to hear him? These songs were all for her.

"What was that one song you were singing about wishing upon a star?"

"_Back to You_," he grumbled.

"Oh, I liked that one the best."

Alice went on to take care of her other tables, glancing back occasionally to him. Too often, she saw his attention occupied by some of the college girls that were hanging out at the cafe. _Come on, Swannie. Where are you? _Alice tapped her pen on her order pad wondering about Bella. Each time she heard the door open, she looked back to see if it was her. On her break, Alice pulled out her phone and sent Bella a quick text.

**You need to get here, pronto!**

When Edward finished his third contracted set at the coffee house, he was torn about how much longer to sit around waiting. She promised to be there. Was she blowing him off now? She hadn't called or texted back. He packed up his guitar and needed to leave, his ego wounded that he had put himself out there in front of strangers without her there to anchor him.

"_Never again_," Edward mumbled as he packed up his guitar. "Alice, can you get me my check?"

"The entertainment gets everything on the house. We're good."

"Fine. Will you tell her to call me if she shows?"

"Sure." Alice said, looking past him to notice a blonde girl lingering by the door, watching them speaking. She stood with her coat on and pocketbook in front of her, flipping the ends of her hair and pulling at her bangs.

Alice watched Edward pull on his coat and then hold the door open for the blonde as they walked out together.

About fifteen minutes after Edward had left, Alice finally got a reply text back from Angela that said Bella was fine. Just at home passed out from drinking.

~x~

Edward checked the clock in his car. 11:46 pm. He still hadn't heard from Bella and his heart battled with whether she was okay or whether she had better plans for the night. _Fuck this, _he thought as he approached his driveway. He was a little too pepped up on coffee. In a sudden illegal turn and with a rev of his engine, he turned his car around and headed back toward her condo complex.

Edward took the steps two at a time and knocked on her door. There was no answer, but Edward had seen lights on inside her condo from the parking lot. "Bella," he called out as he knocked on the door again.

The door opened swiftly.

"Yes?" Angela answered the door balancing a glass in her hand as she held a sheet up across her chest.

"Uh, hi." Edward was obviously interrupting something and tried to avert his eyes. "Is Bella here?" he asked.

"_Bella? _Well she's a little …"

"Who is it that's robbing me of more time from my special kitty?" An open-shirted Demetri appeared, crowded behind Angela, nipping at her neck before looking up. "Who's this?"

"_Oh! _Oh my God!" Angela expressed a laugh of amazement. "She said you were coming here but I didn't know it was tonight! Wow! You're the fiancé, right? Oh shit, I can't remember your name!" Angela continued her fit of giggles.

"What?" Edward asked, angered and surprised.

"Oh, so this is the mate she was going on about?" Demetri added. "Mike, is it?" Demetri extended a hand out. "I'm Demetri, but you can call me _Brewley_."

"No, I'm not." Edward said roughly, ignoring Demetri. "I'm Edward. Where's Bella?"

"No worries, mate. She's right here." Demetri pointed toward the couch.

"Oh_hhhhhhhh_!" Angela exclaimed through a drunken squeal. "Like _Edward, _Edward?"

"Just Edward. And _you_ must be the roommate. Nice to finally meet you." _I think. _Edward gave her a disapproving look, to which Angela grasped at her sheet more tightly. "Is Bella okay? She was supposed to meet up with me tonight." Edward barged his way in, with no resistance from Angela or Demetri, focused on checking on Bella.

Angela thought she was whispering when she told Demetri, "This is her boyfriend." Demetri seemed bemused with that information.

"She had a couple of drinks and they just hit her really hard," Angela tried to explain.

"Not to mention the shots we all did, together," Demetri added in, earning him an icy glare from Edward.

"Oh yes! Those too, but she didn't really want to do them. She was just worked up." Angela said. "I just let her be to sleep. She's had a tough week. She's been up late studying every night."

"Yeah," Edward agreed as he moved the coffee table and bucket out of his way, kneeled down by Bella, and cradled her cheek in his hand.

Demetri followed Edward. "She seems like a great girl but doesn't handle her liquor too well. Well, I mean, I just met her today, a few hours ago, in fact."

At the sound of that, Edward looked up at Demetri and then back over to Angela. He realized what was going on here, but he didn't trust the looks of this Demetri character.

"Uhh, _yeah..._ I think I'm just going to carry her to her bed."

"Sure, mate. Need any help?" Demetri stepped back as Edward pulled the blanket aside and scooped Bella up from the couch into his arms.

"No. I've got this," Edward assured him.

Bella moaned slightly at the feel of her body being jostled.

"_Mike_…" she barely garbled out as Angela and Demetri stood out of Edward's way.

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Demetri snickered.

Taken aback, Edward gripped her tightly and growled slightly at the sound of _that_ name again, shooting Demetri a death stare, before he continued down the hall.

When Edward placed Bella down on her bed, she opened her eyes to see him. "_Oh! It's you…_" Bella said lightly with surprise, smiling like it was the first time she had seen him in a very long time.

"Yeah baby, it's me," he chuckled. "You missed our date."

"_You_ _came back for me._ So tired..." Bella trailed off.

He took care to remove her shoes and tuck her into her bed as comfortably as he could. He knew she was passed out, but maybe that made it easier for him to whisper to her, "I came back for you. Your turn to come back to me." He leaned down to kiss her on her forehead and then, relaxed to be by her side, sang to her in a hushed tone.

_Like a star that guides a ship across the ocean_

_That's how your love will take me home, back to you_

_And if I wish upon that star, someday I'll be where you are, _

_And I know that day is coming soon…_

"_Mmmm," _Bella sighed_. _

"Soon, Bella. I don't think I can wait much longer."

Edward went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water. On the shelf above the sink, he spotted a bottle of Advil - she had told him she had some. He smiled at the thought of that night. _How he wished things had ended differently between them that night._ He left both for her on her bedside table then decided to go back and grab the bucket he had seen by the couch, too. Satisfied with why she hadn't made it to the coffee house, that she wasn't hurt, that is, Edward was willing to leave her there to rest. As he left her room, he almost ran into Demetri, who had helped himself to a plate of apple crisp that he carried in one hand while managing to scoop peanut butter out of the jar with the fingers of his other hand. He was trying to look beyond Edward into Bella's room.

"Looks like you've got her all snookered out and settled in. Hardly the time to leave, don't you think?" Demetri said as he licked his index and middle fingers clean, including sucking the peanut butter off his hairy knuckles, and stuck them back into the jar.

"Huh." Completely not impressed with the _responsible_ roommate he had heard so much about, and distrusting of her guest, Edward looked him up and down before deciding to turn the lock on the inside of Bella's door, then pulling the door closed tightly.

Angela stuck her head out from her room, twirling an end of her glasses in her mouth. "_Brew_-leeeee," she sing-songed.

Demetri looked at Edward, accompanied by a swift up-and-down movement of his eyebrows. "I thought I was going to have to entice you to stay pretty boy, but looks like I'm getting another round in tonight, mate. You don't happen to have an extra bag, do you?"

The facial expression Edward made was priceless - annoyance while his mind said, _this guy is a piece of work. _

Edward reached for his back pocket and pulled a condom out of his wallet. He held it up, but out of Demetri's reach as he took the time to ask, "When did they say Mike was coming?"

"Oh, right, the fiance. With you here, I fancy there's a bit of a triangle going on. They seemed to be expecting him at any time, but don't worry mate. If he shows up, your boy Brewly will give'em the old heave-ho."

Edward carefully slipped the foil package in between Demetri's pinky and ring finger of the hand grasping the plate.

"Thanks. I'll see myself out, then," Edward said.

_~x~_

_A little after 9 am the next morning_

Bella was in the kitchen letting the countertop hold her up as she waited for coffee to brew. _Oh God! _Worst hangover she had had in recent history, despite the Advil she had already popped.

The sudden knocking on her door seemed so obnoxious, like a mythical giant was knocking and the vibrations resonated across her head. "Coming, coming," Bella whispered.

"Swannie! It's me."

Bella opened the door and wondered how someone so small could have created all that racket. Bella held her hand to her head as Alice breezed in through the door.

Alice stopped when she got to the hallway. "Uhh, Swannie? There's a naked guy walking down your hall."

"Hi," Alice said with too much enthusiasm as she waved at him.

"Hi. Don't mind me. Just making my way to the loo." He pointed his finger toward the bathroom.

The girls heard him relieving himself and groan.

"Eww, doesn't he know how to close the door?" Alice asked incredulously. "Is this why you didn't make it to the coffee house last night, Swannie? I got a text from Angela saying you were drunk, but I didn't know it meant you had company."

"What?" Bella shook her head furiously, though it pained her to do so. "No, Alice."

With that Angela stuck her head out from her room into the hallway. "Don't worry," she whispered, "I'm kicking him out soon. Mmmm, I smell coffee. I so n_eed_ coffee!"

As Demetri sauntered out of the bathroom, Bella hid in the kitchen to avoid seeing his bare ass. "Hey, how do you like your coffee, naked dude?" Bella asked.

"Black, two sugars, sugar," he replied.

Alice pulled out her phone. "Does he have his own car?"

"I don't know. What are you doing?" Bella asked.

"Calling him a cab," Alice giggled.

Bella fixed him a to-go foam cup of coffee. Angela came to the kitchen dressed. She poured herself a cup of coffee like there hadn't just been a naked guy walking down the hall into her room.

Bella had fixed coffee for herself and Alice.

"Angela, how come you don't look as hungover as I feel?" Bella spied Angela's bright eyes.

Angela shrugged. "Maybe because I ended up drinking a big glass of water last night to chase everything down." She smirked, waiting for the girls to understand what she was talking about.

Demetri strode into the living room dressed, _thankfully_, bypassing the kitchen as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Bella studied his face, and then groaned at the thought of _Limoncello_.

"Aye, I think sweetheart is remembering a wee of last night. You got knocked on your arse."

"Uh, right. The bar. I vaguely remember," Bella said as she held out his coffee.

Alice eyed him up and down.

"Morning," he smirked and gave her a wink.

"Well, here you go, Demetri," Angela said as she grabbed the cup out of Bella's hand and handed it to him then pushed on him toward the door. "Your cab will be here any minute. Thanks again for last night," Angela told him with rushed words.

"What? Ahl...alright then…" he walked backwards toward the door. "Let's think about this first. One guy and three beautiful girls. I'd like to work with those odds. It's like my own _Charlie's Angels_ here. Not the old one, ya know, the movie ones with the girl who dances around in her panties. Which one of you three would that be?"

Alice was snickering. "Exactly what country are you from?"

"I moved around a lot. It's an interesting story. How about if I stay and tell it?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary! Here! This must be your jacket!" Bella brought over a tan leather coat. "Nice to see you, I mean meet you."

Just as Demetri was at the doorway, he turned to say goodbye to the three girls. "No kissy kissy goodbye? Oh right, you've got fiancé issues." He looked over to Alice. "But you I don't know about."

Bella and Angela both pushed him out the door, then closed it, securing the lock before all three of them broke out into laughter, until Bella worried about how the shaking was causing her head to hurt more.

"Angela!" Alice called out. "Oh my God, did you sleep with _that_?"

"Ick." Bella's shoulders shook as she made a face of repulsion. The three girls each took a seat in the living room. "That was the guy? From the bar?"

"Bar?" Alice placed her coffee down and unscissored her arms, throwing her hands out in a gesture to halt everything. "What the hell happened last night? You have fiancé issues? Was that your cover story at the bar?" she giggled. "By the way, you stood _your boyfriend_ up last night."

"Oh God! I did, didn't I? This just keeps getting better and better." Bella sunk down into the ottoman, her hand clutching her forehead.

"Start at the beginning," Alice said. "And leave nothing out. Not even a kernel of the chaos that went on here last night!"

Before anyone had a chance to talk, knocking was heard at the door. The girls giggled looking at each other, all of them thinking the same thing. _Demetri wasn't giving up. _

Alice flitted over to the door. "Who is it?" she asked skeptically.

"Flower delivery for Isabella Swan," a woman's voice rang out. Alice stood on her tiptoes to look through the peep hole.

"Uhhh, Isabella?" she looked over toward Bella and Angela. "You can just leave them by the door," Alice spoke to the door.

After a few moments, the three girls opened the door together to find a white box wrapped with a red ribbon. Inside Bella opened the box to find two dozen red roses with a note that read,

**_I Miss you. See you soon._**

Angela looked at Bella. Bella looked back at Angela.

"What?" Alice said. "They're from Edward, right?"

"Maybe," Bella mumbled.

"Maybe?" Alice asked surprised.

Angela's eyes widened even more, her mouth filled with air like she was trying to contain herself until she couldn't anymore. "Or maybe they're from Bella's secret fiancé!" Angela covered her mouth and ran to the other side of the room.

"EX-CUSE ME?" Alice reacted in a voice neither of the other girls recognized.

Bella placed the box down on the kitchen counter and stared at it thinking over and over, _Could they have been from Edward? _No. Red roses were Mike's calling card. He didn't know any other flowers existed.

"Bella," Alice got up and began sternly, "I am going to refill my coffee, and even though I'm off duty, I will warm your coffee up too, but then we are all going to sit down and have a nice long chat."

Bella had been standing motionless, and Alice lightly shook Bella's shoulders, directing her back toward the ottoman.

Alice returned to the kitchen noting the pan of apple crisp on the counter as she poured coffee before returning to the living room.

"Here goes...again." Bella started from the beginning, how she met Mike at a frat party in college and then how they dated on and again and off again until she graduated. He had told her that once they were graduated he was going to propose to her. Then she progressed to telling them about the accident and waking up in the hospital a _broken Bella._ Alice listened intently, just as Angela had tried to do yesterday, only with less interruptions.

A teary Alice hugged Bella tightly. "You made the right decision. You got a second chance at life, and you took it."

"Yeah," Angela threw an arm around Bella. "If you had married Mike and turned down your acceptance, we wouldn't have met you."

"And look how far you've come in such a short amount of time!" Alice tried to reassure Bella. "Besides, timing is everything. Our wants of today are often addressed in tomorrows and our desires of yesterday revisited today."

"Who is that? Dickinson?" Angela asked.

"Nah, I just made that shit up! It sounds good, though doesn't it?" Alice laughed.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief, feeling confident that she successfully got through another telling of _her_ story, as pathetic as she deemed parts of it to be. Neither of her friends blamed her for her actions and both became pillars of support for her and the decisions she made.

"I need to have some breakfast," Bella said, quipping how her head finally felt better. "Thanks for leaving me the Advil and water by my bed last night." Bella got up to pour herself a bowl of cereal.

"Can you bring me a piece of that apple crisp, please? _Now_, I'm off duty." Alice sat back on the couch humming a tune. "Do do do do do do, da do da do da dooo, dooo, dooo, dooo, dooo."

"Okay, Alice." Bella looked back over her shoulder before continuing to the kitchen. "My headache is better but not ready to handle music."

"Sorry, I was just humming a song Edward sang at the coffee house last night."

Bella stopped. Edward. The coffee house. Last night. _Wait. _"He sang again?"

"Yep," Alice said sweetly.

"With who? That same open mic chick that was there last week?" Bella asked while Angela made her way into the kitchen and pulled the milk out of the stainless steel refrigerator.

"Nope. He contracted with Marcus to be the open mic act last night. Not only can he sing, but he can also play guitar."

"_What!"_ Bella shrieked sticking her head around a wall to see Alice.

"Really?" Angela asked.

"You should have been there. We left you messages," Alice said as Bella handed her a plate of crisp.

"Oh now, you see," Angela returned to the living room with a bowl of cereal, "Bella wouldn't have gotten those because not only did she get plastered at the bar but also she left her phone at the booth we sat at." Angela took a seat on the couch, crossing her legs and diving into her breakfast.

"I did?" Bella asked surprised at the news. "But it's right there," Bella looked over at a small shelf that sat by the door that they threw their keys and phones on before sitting down.

Angela put her head down as she spoke in muffled tones with a mouth full of cereal. "mmmmmrrrrrrwwwwmmmwwwrrrr."

"What?" Alice laughed. "Come again?"

Angela cupped her hand slightly over her mouth to avoid showing the cereal she was chewing while she made an extra effort to speak more clearly.

"That's because Demetri returned it to us last night. Here."

Alice and Bella both looked at Angela expectantly. "He found it at our seat and I had already given him my number. When he called me, I told him he could bring it by. Because...you know, he offered to do that. He showed up with a bottle of wine. Bella was passed out. I decided not to go to my study group. I wanted his company, so I invited him in." Angela shrugged.

"But Angela, did you hear that guy this morning? He was a total tool!" Alice exclaimed. "Are you going to see him, again?"

"No way!" Angela said and continued to eat her cereal until she realized she was being glared at. "Oh no, don't...please..." Angela pointed her spoon at Bella. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?" Bella asked.

"Like, _Oh_ _poor Angela_, _you could do so much better_."

"But…don't you think you could?" Bella asked her.

"Hot guys like Demetri don't see anything beyond these glasses unless they're drunk. I've never been blessed to have two guys to juggle, _Alice,_ and it's been a while, _Bella_, since I've had a boyfriend who cared about me enough to carry me into my bed and not stay long enough to take advantage of me."

"Well technically, _I'm_ down to one guy. Just Riley. I let Felix down easy awhile ago," Alice admitted.

"Wait? Edward was here, last night?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, it's a little hazy, but he definitely was here and carried you from the couch down to your bed." Angela shrugged. "It must have been him that left you the Advil. You don't remember him being here?"

Bella shook her head 'no' then immediately got up and went to her phone. She sent Edward a quick text:

**I heard you put me to bed. **

**I didn't intend to be drunk last night.**

**Sorry I missed your surprise.**

**If you sing again next Saturday, I promise to be there. :)**

Bella's phone beeped letting her know the charge was almost out. She quickly took it down to her room and plugged it in to charge before returning to the girls.

"_No_, I don't think you're that," Alice was telling Angela. "At. All. But you're telling me this is the second one-night stand you've had since you got here. So that's it? You don't _want_ a relationship?"

"Sometimes," Angela admitted quietly before being a little more adamant. "But, I'm telling you, it's just harder for me. Guys pass by me all the time. They look at me and see this brainy girl that isn't going to be worth their effort."

"Hello!" Alice laughed. "We're at Harvard! All the girls here are brainy! I think the playing field is leveled a bit more here than you are used to and you need to embrace it."

"Isn't there anyone you've met here that you _like_?" Bella questioned.

Angela bit her lip to stifle a secret thought. "Well, there is this one guy, Ben, in my study group that I really think is cute. I haven't had much of a chance to talk to him, but he's been really sweet. Not too tall, unfortunately, but…" Angela shook her head. "I don't know. He's hard to read because he seems really quiet."

"Perfect!" Alice said brightly.

"Why perfect?" Angela asked.

"Because Angela, you may be brainy but you are lively and bubbly, and any quiet guy is going to be drawn to you and your radiance. You just have to let a little more of that shine while you are around him. But don't_ just_ sleep with him! You know it's not that I oppose a one night stand once and a while, girls should have their fun and all, but not if you want something more with a guy."

Alice turned to Bella. "I already know you have some hang-up with one night stands. Want to fill us in?"

Bella rolled her eyes in an attempt to not let old wounds reopen.

"You've never had one?" Alice asked.

"More like, I've never recovered from the first one I had."

"Well?" Angela asked.

"Ugh. It was a boyfriend in high school. I was sixteen when I was dating him. He was a senior on the basketball team and I was a junior, cheering. He was popular. We were noticed a lot. He had the car, the hair, the popularity. He told me he was going to make my seventeenth birthday really special for me."

"Did he?" Angela prompted her to continue.

"Oh he made it unforgettable, alright." Bella rolled her eyes. "He took me to dinner then to his pool house. He lit two candles and sat me on an uncushioned plastic lounge chair where I gave him my virginity. The next day, the asshole broke up with me and started dating another girl."

"Ahh, honey, I'm sorry," Angela said giving Bella the '_Awe_' face.

"It messed with my mind. I tried to fix it for me, ya know," Bella admitted.

"How? Keying his car?" Alice laughed. "Jerk deserved that and more!"

"No, I thought if I could get a guy to sleep with me and walk away that it would help me feel a little more powerful, conquer how worthless I felt after Jasper broke up with me, but it didn't work. I always felt worse...It never filled the void, and it was more like I stepped further and further away from where I was supposed to be. But once I started dating Mike, it kind of put me at a standstill, centered me somehow."

The girls took time consoling each other over years of finding their way through love, sex, and relationships with men until they sat in complete silence, all reflecting on their own histories. None of them had expected how much of their stories they would be revealing to each other that morning.

"You want to hear something funny that I just thought of?" Alice asked, interrupting the silence.

"Sure," Angela and Bella answered together.

"I don't think I've ever met a '_Jasper,_' much less heard that name before, and now I've heard it twice in two days. Isn't it funny when random shit like that happens?" Alice giggled.

"Where else did you hear it?" Bella asked.

"Edward was singing it in one of his songs last night."

"Really?" Bella asked. "That's so strange. What song?"

"It was that old Rick Springfield song. I'm sure he replaced 'Jessie' with it. You know like," Alice sang, "_I wish that I had Jasper's girl."_

_How odd, _Bella thought.

"So how was he as a singer?" Angela asked.

"He was great. The crowd loved him. Oh Swannie, I wish you would have made it."

"I wish I had, too," Bella said with a blank stare, still wondering about the coincidence of Edward using _that name_ in his song.

"I wish I could have been there to see that, but at least I finally laid eyes on the guy!" Angela whined. "Ooh, I'm just gonna run to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Alice took the time to confide in Bella, lowering her voice. "Look, Swannie, I didn't want to have to tell you this, but…" Alice trailed off.

"But what, Alice?"

"Well, he kept asking for you, but when you didn't show, he left with some blonde chick that had been there the whole time."

"Oh?" Bella's voice went high, waiting for more to the story - an explanation or a reason - but Alice only nodded slightly leaving a cold and uninvited silence to fill the room before Angela returned.

"Okay, I'm back. Just had to pee. You know, I can't place it, but there is something _so_ familiar about Edward. It's on the tip of my tongue. It'll come to me, though, I'm sure of it. Stuff like that always does. I keep thinking maybe he's in one of my classes."

She looked back and forth between Alice and Bella. Alice sat with her head down. Bella sat with her knees pulled in tight, and her arms wrapped around herself, frozen.

"What happened? What'd I miss?" Angela said anxiously as she looked back and forth between them. With no quick answer, she shrugged and started clearing their dishes with intention of putting on another pot of coffee in the kitchen.

"I was just telling Bella here that Edward left with some blonde chick last night," Alice said, eyeing Bella for more of a reaction.

_Crap! _Angela thought as she slightly clanked the dishes in her hands. "Okay, well he couldn't have spent too long with her if he came here. Though he didn't stay. Eww, do you think she was waiting in his car?" Angela asked.

"Um, not helping, Ang," Alice scolded.

Angela made her way into the kitchen and deposited the dishes into the sink.

"Shit!" Angela mumbled. "Oh, no."

"What is it?" Alice called out. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Angela came out into the living room, her hands rapidly moving back and forth from her face to her head. "Oh no. I'm sorry, Bella. But I think I'm about to _not help_ even more."

"Why?" Bella asked.

Angela extended her arms down and rolled her wrists. "Okay, I know I was a little drunk last night when I met him, okay, a lot drunk, but I kept thinking I knew him from somewhere. Edward had kind of auburn hair, right? A little longish?"

"Yep," Alice answered.

"Really strong jawline?" Angela sucked in a breath through her teeth and scrunched up her face.

"Oh that would be Edward," Alice continued, validating Angela.

"Oh my God! He's _that_ guy! The _hoTT_ guy! Harvard McDreamy!"

Bella and Alice didn't follow. Both of their heads tilted forward and down as Angela paced the living room, having abandoned the idea of making coffee, sobered by her revelation. She stopped at a spot and pointed down. "I stood right here and told you guys weeks ago about a guy I overheard on his phone at the bookstore."

"Oh right, _right_! The one you and the cashier were both watching…" Alice remembered.

"Yes!" Angela's arm shot out toward Alice. "Thank you."

Alice chirped, "But weren't you disappointed or something?"

"Yes, because I was eavesdropping on his conversation."

"No, it can't be the same guy. That guy was going on about being in love with his ex-girlfriend or something?" Alice remembered her saying so.

"Yeah! And how he still loved her and how long he had been _in love_ with her." Angela put a fist to the side of her head, trying to remember more. "He said…" Angela paused and then stated in defeat, her voice dropping to a whine, "that he was in love with her now more than ever."

After working out the details of that memory, Angela and Alice looked to Bella, fearing what this meant for their friend. She sat there quietly, her body curled up tightly as if she were a coiled up cat, her teeth buried deep into her bottom lip.

"Swannie, let go of your lip or you're gonna bleed."

"I'm really sorry, Bella. I had no idea," Angela apologized.

The unwanted silence set in again, like a mist, setting in from every angle of the room. Alice was afraid to speculate out loud what this meant, but she knew it wasn't good for Bella.

Alice and Angela both came to either side of Bella, wrapping their arms around her and resting their heads on her shoulders.

"Maybe Angela is wrong about what she overheard," Alice told her. 'Wasn't that like our first week here?"

"Except, I'm not," Angela said apologetically, slightly shaking a few fingers near her head. "Part of my braininess."

They waited until Bella finally spoke.

"_He hesitated_...He hesitated when I asked him."

"About what?" Angela asked.

"When I asked if there were any other girls in the picture…he lied …he lied to me," Bella whispered incredulously. "_Nothing of consequence_ he told me."

"So then all these weeks of spending time with you…were what? Just to …" Angela hypothesized in her mind but didn't want to vocalize her thought.

Angela and Alice looked at each other through narrowed eyes.

Alice flared her nose in disgust. "Ugh! You know dogs don't come in one-size-fits-all packages. They won't all be as transparent as Demetri."

Bella stood up, her hand motioning a patting gesture toward Alice. "Yeah, yeah, I get the picture, Alice. Demetri got what he wanted last night and Edward is still enjoying the chase. At least, the _Bella Swan_ _chase_. Maybe Edward got what he wanted last night too, with the blonde."

A deep shiver ran through her entire body.

"So what is it? A case of a lot of free nights due to a long-distance relationship? It's only cheating if they are both in the same state? I wonder where she is...in California finishing school or at grad school in a different part of the country? In the meantime, he's not letting himself get lonely, I guess."

Bella shook her head, fuming, and angrily marched over to the window where she had liked to watch him walk through the parking lot all those times he picked her up in the mornings. She couldn't believe she was thinking these things about him. At the very least, she had come to depend on him as a friend. Why couldn't he have told her?

"I wonder how many other blondes like the girl from last night he's fit in these past few weeks," Bella seethed. "It's not like I've kept tabs on him."

Alice and Angela came up behind Bella, wrapping their arms around her in comfort. "But ewww, how do you say that about a girl, how do you profess how _in love_ you've always been and still are and then ... I don't know, he's been so good to you. It doesn't make sense," Angela added in her two cents.

"Exactly! Which is why I'm going to yell at myself for falling for him...I mean, for his _act_," Bella said nonchalantly.

"Hey, we're the ones that have been encouraging you to go for it with him, Bella. You can't blame yourself," Alice said.

"Yes I can." Bella paused for a minute, her thoughts shifting to that day in orientation when he held out the crutches to her. "You guys don't understand. I _let_ myself believe something about him that just…I don't even know how to explain it, but I was wrong. Dead wrong."

"You know, when you meet new people, you don't automatically reveal everything about yourself — you for one should know that," Alice tried to reason.

"Yeah, the difference being that I didn't lie to his face."

"Bella, I'm sorry," Angela said. "I didn't say it to hurt you."

Bella kept a stiff upper lip, regaining a calmer composure. She recognized the coddling she was getting and that wasn't what she needed. She was thankful she found out sooner rather than later and brightened her tone, trying to dispell the legend of Edward Cullen. The chase ended _now_.

"Hey! You guys! I said _just one date _to get it out of my system and I meant it. Now it's done. I'm not going to allow myself to get hurt because I'm not getting involved with him any further. I'm here at Harvard and I'm alive and really proud to be a student here, so I'm going to concentrate on my studies and work my ass off to get my degree. If he's got something else going on, then good for him. I'm sure I'm no comparison to whoever he's still in love with anyway." _We just share the same ticklish spots, ick! _

Bella suddenly thought of Mike. Was he seeing someone else while reaching out to Bella? If so, was he lying to that poor girl just to get her into bed? Probably. _Ugh,_ she didn't even want to think about how many conquests Mike has had since the breakup.

"Oh, I know! Wanna go throw rotten apples at his house?" Alice asked mischieveously to which the girls laughed lightly.

"No, I don't want to do that."

"Well, after everything you've told us about the accident, it really sounds to me like you've gotten a second chance at life. And you deserve to be happy," Alice commended her. "What do you think you'll do?"

Bella sighed. "Not like I was his girlfriend anyway…or _other_ girlfriend, I guess, whatever, but I'm going to cut him off. And it's gonna suck," Bella pouted a sigh. "Majorly. Because Edward doesn't kiss a girl like he's in love with someone else."

"Bastard!" Angela threw in with a laugh.

"And then I'm going to call Mike and try to sort things out with him."

"What do you think will happen there?" Alice asked.

Bella just shrugged. "I don't know, but right now, I really want to go call my mom." Bella began walking down the hallway.

"Are you going to tell her?" Angela asked.

"No way! She doesn't need to know. I just want to find out if they have money for me to fly home for Thanksgiving. And see if Mike has been bugging them at all." Bella had turned and started making her way down the hall.

"Oh Bella," Alice called out to her, "Wait! I meant to tell you guys that my mom wants to know if you want to come to my parent's house for dinner tonight? And, if you don't want to fly home for Thanksgiving, my parents said you're both welcome to come to our house. I'm trying to get Riley to come, too. And my brother Peter, and his wife will be there."

"Okay," Bella said solemnly. "My parents will be happy to hear that I have a good place to go if I can't fly home. Dinner tonight sounds good."

"Ang?" Alice asked. "You'll come over tonight?"

"Sure," said Angela. "I could use some home cooking."

Bella returned to her room to find a text from Edward.

**Alice told you? **

**You missed your surprise.**

**I can arrange a private performance before Sat. WINK**

_Oh I bet you could, _Bella thought then shook her head at her sudden change in thinking about him. All of his flirtatious comments prior to today she had laughed at as part of his charm. Now she was skeptical. She had held her chin up high in front of the girls as long as she could, but alone in her room, reading his texts, her heart sank.

**I want to see you.**

**Call me.**

Call him? Bella contemplated the best way to communicate with him right now, weighing what she thought she could handle the best. No she didn't want him to hear her voice crack. It would have to be an email or a text.

~x~

Edward sat in a recliner in his living room reading through one of his books with sports highlights on TV in the background when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

_"Cullen!"_

"Hey, Tyler," he answered. "What'd you find out?"

"_Hey buddy," _Tyler answered._ "I checked with a couple of people after you called last night who said after he left the Lodge he went home. He's supposed to be going back to the Lodge this afternoon to watch football."_

"Good. So he's still in town. Let me know if you hear he's making a trip?"

"_You know I will. You want an update on any of the other douchebags from our class who still hang around this town?" _Tyler laughed.

"Nah, I can get a rundown on the rest from my parents."

"_Oh I saw your mom the other day. She told me to stop by for some cookies and milk just like I always used to do growing up."_

Edward laughed. "Yeah well, that would be my mom."

"_Yeah. Alright buddy. You kick ass at Harvard, while your boy Tyler is playing rookie cop back in Port Angeles."_

"Thanks Tyler."

With a 'yep' Tyler disconnected, and Edward set his phone down.

_Okay,_ he thought, as his head tried to sort the details out. When he called Tyler last night, his friend had filled him in that Mike had moved back to Forks and had been blabbing his sob story at the bar one night to anyone who would listen, vowing how he was going to win his fiancee back. The story was that she was still in school but once she finished he planned on marrying her and together they were going to expand his family's business by opening up one, if not two, sporting good stores in the towns surrounding Forks.

He didn't know what Angela was going on about when she answered the door last night, but he did know that, for now anyway, Mike was still on the West Coast. It was time to consider how he was going to go about it, to get Bella to commit to him.

"_Bella, I want you to go steady with me." _Uhhh, no too old fashioned.

"_We were meant to be together." _Uhhh, no too intense.

"_Do you Bella Swan take me, Edward Cullen, to be your boyfriend?" _Uhhh, stupid.

"_Why the fuck am I singing Justin Bieber lyrics?" _Ugh, why the fuck am I singing Justin Bieber lyrics?

"_Before we go on our next date, I have one condition. I'll only go as your boyfriend. Be my girlfriend, Bella." _

Edward smiled.

That would be the way to go.

He heard his phone text alert chirp and picked it up off the side table to read the incoming text.

He smiled as her name came up across the screen.

**Hope it can wait.**

**Still pretty hung over**

**Going to Alice's parent's house.**

**Not sure when I'll be around this week.**

_What._

_The._

_Fuck? _

_Why does it feel like she's blowing me off?_

_~x~_

_A/n: !_

_Okay...lay it on us. We anticipate you having some strong emotions. __Like on a scale of "Grrr..." to throwing your Kindle across the room, how mad are you? o.O_

_Before you answer that...*cuts you a piece of warm apple crisp* *TwiWeasel adds a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and serves it to you.* __I've got an Eclipse Bella quote for you..."You knew this was coming." __We all knew that Angela would put two and two together once she finally met Edward, knowing it wouldn't land well. _

_Like I said...this was a tricky chapter to write, but even trickier to post! On my profile page is a link to a picture of your new pal, Brewley. I just thought he warranted a picture. I know a few of my readers will definitely know what song Edward was singing to Bella when he tucked her in. ;) _

**_be good!_**

**_kiTT :)_**


	17. At PresentCont'd, 5

**A/n: Just wanted to thank all the HLiW so very much for the reviews, extra PMs and chats after the last chapter! I'm truly flattered by how invested many of you are in my versions of the original characters. It's good to keep in mind that this B and E are flawed! Back in HCW B told E "you might not like the person I've become." And E? He was trying to take advantage of Tanya's affections for him, as a means to an end in the hospital.**

**I hate to give too much away...many of you pointed out how 'dumb' Bella is. Doesn't love makes fools of us all, regardless of IQ or alma mater? No matter how _dumb_ Bella was/is/_will be ...*ahem*_...I hope you'll trust that when it really counts, I mean really-_really _counts, that she'll wake up and do the right thing. **

**As for Bella's friends...remember in the beginning I said that I got inspired to write this after I saw and read "Pride & Prejudice" for the first time? I remember what it felt like to find out that the accomplished Mr. Darcy intentionally influenced Mr. Bingley's decision to walk away from Jane. _Shock! _Can you imagine if Jane Austen had actually allowed the reader to be privy to _that_ discussion? hmmmm...**

**Speaking of P&P, I love the part in the 2005 movie version where Elizabeth confronts Mr. Darcy and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife that each time I watch I'm yelling "Just kiss her damn it!" And he doesn't kiss her...that's frustrating. And kind of evil. I can respect that. **

**Disclaimer: All characters and dialogue belong to Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At present**

_~x~_

**Cont'd...**

Edward let go of her wrist and stood up, raking his fingers through his hair. An onlooker wouldn't have known if he was taming his hair from the breeze or weeding through it out of frustration.

He kicked the leg of the bench with a grunt. "You're so stubborn, Isabella!"

"Whoa!" Bella flinched and gaped at him. "Maybe I am, but you don't need to take it out on the bench, especially while I'm still sitting on it!"

Edward immediately thought of sitting in his father's office — the looks his father and mother gave him like he was crazy when he pounded his fists down on his father's desk. He admits that he was c_razed_ in that moment, intent on saving _her_. This was different, though, and he chided himself for his behavior.

"Oh shit, did I scare you? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he apologized profusely. "I shouldn't have done that." His knees dropped down to the grass, just at her feet. He took her hand into his gently, carefully.

"No, it's fine, but…" She patted the space next to her.

They engaged in a short moment of stalemate with their eyes before he relented and sat back down next to her.

"How stubborn can I be?" she asked. "It's not like I had the strength to stay away from you for very long."

~x~

**A/n:**

***Thanks to the TwiWeasel for looking this over. :)

**Rec: laureate04's Completed "Somewhere in Brooklyn" (Thanks for your clarity, lauren!)

*SassyKassie told me I wasn't allowed to have any more 'Dawson moments' in this fic. lol I do declare, whatever does she mean?

Oh crap...now the theme song that refused to die is back in my head *sings*_ i don't want to wait for my life to be over...Damn you Paula Cole! At least we found out where all the cowboys have gone...well just one cowboy, Mr. Jackson Rathbone went to Hollywood! *swoon, swoon*_


	18. Locked Out of Heaven

**A/n: Thank you for the reviews! Please know I appreciate the sincerity shown for the story/characters. **

**Thanks, as always, to the loverly TwiWeasel who has made me realize I have completely lost any command I ever thought I had over the English language. **

**Sorry for all the ~x~'s in this chapter but this site makes spacing an issue. If you need space, you need space. ;) Not sure why it doesn't get that. OR maybe I'm doing something wrong. I can't underline the days of the week either like I wanted to.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Recognizable characters and dialogue thanks to SM and Melissa Rosenberg. Music lyrics thanks to Bruno Mars. Yep, I chose to stick with him! No copyright infringement intended. **

**You might want to bring up Bruno Mars' song on youtube and press play in 3..2..1**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

**~xXx~**

Locked Out of Heaven

**~x~**

Edward pulled his phone out again and stared at the text he had received from Bella Sunday night.

**I need some space. Please don't call.**

Edward had stared and stared at the text numerous times throughout the week. He would give her the space she needed for now, but he had no intention of going anywhere.

~x~

Monday

**For how long?**

**Are you okay?**

_No response._

~x~

Tuesday

**I need to know if you are okay. **

_No response._

~x~

Wednesday

**If this has anything to do with Mike**

**let's talk about it first. I know it took**

**a lot for you to open up to me. **

_No response._

~x~

Thursday

**I miss you.**

~x~

_I miss you too, _Bella said to herself as she read his text Thursday evening, sitting cross-legged on the couch. As much as she tried not to dwell on him, thoughts of him encroached upon her when she was doing mundane activities, like laundry, and during times she needed to be focused, like in class. He'd been as much a part of her weekly life at Harvard as her professors, hell even Alice. He hadn't called or showed up at her condo. She hadn't responded to him.

"Bella?" Angela asked as she entered the living room.

All week she had bounced back and forth between being ultra efficient, like a super version of herself, in front of Angela, to retreating within herself whenever she was alone.

"Are you sure you're okay with our plans for Saturday?"

"Yeah. Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You've kind of been like a robot on speed all week. You might need to crash Saturday night."

"I've just needed to keep myself busy."

Angela relented. "Are you going to be here or are you going to the coffee house?"

"I don't know. Not that I think he'll be there, but I'm not going to go out of my way to avoid him. But then again, maybe I need to stay here and meet some new people."

"I'll give you the rundown on every guy in my study group. Except Ben," Angela offered with a smile.

"I don't mean like that. Hey, did Alice ever say why Riley didn't make it to dinner the other night?"

"No, I don't think so. Her family was really nice to have us over for dinner."

"Yeah, they were."

~x~

Friday

Edward didn't know if he was putting himself through more agony, or if he just needed to clear his head, when he pulled up into the park for an early morning run, knowing it was the place she had agreed to go on a date with him. Edward put his earbuds in, stretched for a few minutes, and took off running to the music of Bruno Mars.

**~Locked out of Heaven~**

_Oh yeah yeah yeah_

_Never had much faith in love or miracles_

_Never wanna put my heart on the line._

_But swimming in your world is something spiritual_

_I'm born again every time you spend the night_

How had he screwed this up? Things had been going so well. Every single moment of the date seemed natural and not forced. When they met for coffee, as coy as she was, he felt it. He _knew _she wanted to be with him. Surely, Bella would not have let him kiss her like that if she wasn't truly into him.

_Yeah you make me feel like, I've been locked out of heaven_

_For too long, for too long_

Was the pressure of classes getting to her?

_You bring me to my knees_

_You make me testify_

_You can make a sinner change his ways_

_Open up your gates cause I can't wait to see the light_

_And right there is where I wanna stay_

Or the pressure of someone else?

Fuckin'Newton. Clenching his fists, never had Edward appreciated the humor of Jerry Seinfeld more.

_Cause your sex takes me to paradise_

_Yeah your sex takes me to paradise_

_And it shows, yeah, yeah, yeah_

In the meadow, she was so easily persuaded when it came to letting anything she had with Mike fall to the wayside.

"**So then we stay here together, and Harvard can wait."**

~x~

_Cause you make me feel like, I've been locked out of heaven_

_For too long, for too long_

~x~

"**I'm not leaving. This is where my heart has always been and will always remain, here . . . with you."**

What he wouldn't give to be back in that moment again. To hear her say those words to him, declaring she wants to be with him as much as he wants to be with her.

_Can't I just stay here, spend the rest of my days here_

_Cause you make me feel like, I've been locked out of heaven_

_For too long, for too long_

**~x~**

As the song ended, he realized how much he had been pushing himself so early on in his run and how far he had gotten. He stopped, bending over to catch his breath, knowing his heart rate was already up, but not just from the physical exertion.

A structure he hadn't noticed before suddenly caught his eye as the sun reflected off a small dark section. He made his way over to it, realizing it was a wishing well along the edge of the lake. A small brass plaque along the outer rim stated it was placed there in memoriam by the family of a student who died during his junior year at Harvard. The plaque invited visitors to make a wish in his memory.

"I wish she'd remember already." He groaned, adding in an expletive in his head at himself, and realized he had more steam to blow off. He took off slowly, continuing his run.

Once home and showered, Edward paced around his house realizing he needed to talk to someone. He knew his brother was three hours behind in California and would just be waking up right about now, so he dialed his number.

Emmett answered and told him he had a few minutes to talk to him while he drank his coffee, but after ten minutes of Edward essentially whining, Emmett urged him to get to the point.

"The point? I can't get her to fucking talk to me," he yelled into the phone. "I just want her to talk to me!"

Emmett held the phone away from his ear.

"Here, let me talk to him."

_Oh shit,_ Edward hadn't realized Emmett's new girlfriend was there. "No, no, no, don't hand the phone over to..."

"Hello, Edward?"

"Hi Rose," Edward deadpanned.

"It's _Doctor_ Hale, thank you. I worked very hard to earn that title in order to help people. And my clientele find my therapy sessions are highly effective. Your brother has relayed the situation to me, and I'm afraid to tell you that this dream of yours is nothing more than that. I understand you knew this girl when you were little?"

"Yep," he confirmed, popping the 'p' in annoyance and rolling his eyes.

"So the most likely clinical explanation here is that you've repressed memories of her, and during your morphine-induced state, your mind tapped into those memories and played them out in the form of a dream. Perhaps as a child you felt abandoned after losing your friend. It's not uncommon for such a contributing factor to a trauma to play out in our dreams. Did your dream end favorably?"

"Yes," Edward smiled for the first time that day remembering. "Very favorably."

"As I suspected. That's really the tell-tale sign, Edward. When your mind works that hard to solve a problem, it will always be solved in your favor, because_ you_ were the one dreaming. And that's all it was. A dream. It wasn't real."

"Ugh, I can't believe you would say that to me. How do you explain that I knew she was going to Harvard? That she's here. And I'm here."

"That was the biggest wish of all! Your mind set up a scenario for you to somehow continue your fantasy world once you woke up."

Edward paced the floor of his living room as he listened with a growing resentment to her. She was pissing him off, now.

"What about the fact that I knew her boyfriend was going to propose to her?"

"Ahh, yes, the boyfriend that you grew up with. Edward, think about it. You're from Forks. You know the area and the people. Your brother tells me it's not a big town. You had probably already heard about it somewhere, but the information didn't mean anything to you. We all pick up tidbits of information throughout our days that our minds store, and then find interesting ways to process and regurgitate."

It _was _possible. Over the summer, Tanya yammered on about one thing after another. She always relayed details that she found out either through the hospital grapevine or from some of the other people she kept in touch with from high school. Had he picked up on the information already?

"Look Edward, you're at Harvard. If you don't believe me, then make an appointment with one of the specialists from the Harvard Medical Department to discuss it. I think they'll tell you about the likelihood that this whole episode isn't quite the basis of a love story you want it to be. That's not to say that this girl, Bella's her name?"

"Yeah."

"Well while Bella may be real, your dream experiences were _not _real. That's not to say you can't just ask her out like a normal person would. Just don't put any expectations on her about memories that she probably doesn't have. Best not to believe any of it was real, and just try to work things out in the here and now. Okay, Edward? No charge. You're welcome. I'm going to hand you back to your brother now."

"Uh, yeah, thanks, doc," Edward muttered. _I already tried that._

Emmett came back on the line, half listening to Rosalie telling him she was heading in to shower and that she expected company.

"Okay, my honeysuckle! I'll finish up here and be right in," he said in a pleasing voice then paused, waiting for her to clear the room before resuming his phone call.

With a fast pace to his words and change in the seriousness of his tone, Emmett had his own advice to give. "Listen to me, little brother. I'm going to tell you something, and God help you if I were to end up marrying that woman, and were to ever find out that you repeated to her what I'm about to say. Never doubt that I will deny it, and that you will suffer. I need complete brother code here, do you understand me?"

"Uhh, yeah," Edward responded, taken off guard by this side of his brother. And it was the first time he had ever heard his brother mention marriage.

"Good. Now, her practice has a time and a place in people's lives, so I'm not discounting that when people come to her for help and advice that she does an excellent job giving it to them."

"Okay, but…" Edward followed along.

"But if you listen to one word, even one syllable, of that psychobabble bullshit she just fed you then I will get on a plane—after I get my shower sex—and come to Cambridge and kick your sorry ass!"

"What?" Edward asked with chuckle.

"I put up with a lot of years of your moping about like you had lost your best friend. I'd find you hiding out in the tree house by yourself, with only a comic book when you were a kid, and have to coax you out with the promise of playing baseball. Then, once you were older, whenever I wanted you to go somewhere with me, I'd find you out in the meadow playing your guitar all alone. You were like some lonesome wolf howling out there all the time."

"So?" Edward asked slightly defensively.

"So?" Emmett fired back. "So what if you don't have to be _that_ _guy_ anymore? And what if it's because you've found her?"

"What am I supposed to do? She told me she needed space."

"Well first man, you have to lighten up on her. She's been through a lot. And you have too. There's no rush. This isn't a contest. So give her a little room to breathe while she figures things out."

"So you think I should just keep giving her space?"

"No, I said a _little _room to breathe. Cripes, are you listening to me? You want to walk away from her and give her so much space? Guess what happens where there is 'space' just hanging out there—someone or something else is suddenly there filling it. Is that what you want to happen?"

"Fuck no, Emmett."

"I didn't think so. So stop sitting back and acting like a damn pussy. For fuck's sake Edward, you were so desperate in the hospital that you tried to bribe Tanya into helping you. This time you don't need anyone's help. You just need to step up. Come clean with her so maybe she will come clean with you. You were so gung-ho in the beginning of this, what happened?"

"I don't know what happened!"

"Well then it's time to find out. No holds barred. Yeah, you can talk to doctors and specialists and Rosalie, but guess what? The only person who can validate if it was real is _her_. So yeah, give her a little space, but don't wait too long before you decide to put it all on the line, buddy."

Edward listened, dumbstruck at the truth of his brother's words.

Emmett's demeanor was firm and instructional. "If need be, sit her down and ask her outright, no matter what the answer is, and then go from there. Do you think you can you do that?"

Edward coughed slightly. "Yeah, I think I can." He knew what he was saying. Edward had taken matters into his own hands in the hospital regardless of the consequences. Where did _that_ Edward go? Why had so much fear set in?

_Because he didn't want to lose her…because __he didn't want to admit it might not have been real._

"Good, now I need to go get me my shower sex."

"Ugh, oh come on, Emmett." Edward winced.

Emmett laughed heartily into the phone. "Remember what I said."

"Yeah. I think I've got it. Emmett?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime, little brother. Oh hey, Mom told me you saw Katie. She saw a picture of you posted on her Facebook page. How is she? I don't think I've seen her since Uncle Stefan got remarried. That has to be seven years ago by now."

"Oh yeah. Good, good. She came down to my gig last week. She's definitely not the awkward thirteen-year-old with braces anymore. I know Uncle Stefan wasn't happy about her going to Boston University, but she is doing really well there."

"It's funny that the cousins seem to be situated in the four corners of the US right now. Well if you get a chance to see her again, tell her I said hi."

"Yeah, I will."

"Alright, think about what I said. I have to go. But you call me if you need anything."

"Okay Emmett, bye."

"Bye."

~x~

After her last class on Friday, Bella had needed to burn off some energy. Or run away. She hadn't heard from Edward today, but she told herself she had no right to hope to hear from him. She was still waiting to hear back from Mike, at a time that was convenient for him. She managed to talk Angela into taking a run with her so she didn't have to go alone, convincing her to bundle up and go to_ the _park.

"How'd you find this place?" Angela asked as she and Bella kept a slow pace on the trail around the lake.

Bella looked over to her and raised her eyebrows silently asking if she really had to answer that question.

"Oh," Angela realized. "This is the scene of the dreamy kissing, isn't it?"

Bella nodded a 'yes' to her. "Hey! Look over there," Bella pointed.

"At what? Oh shit is he here?" Angela asked looking around.

"Nooooo," Bella laughed. "That looks like a wishing well."

"Oh, well I could use a break _and_ a wish, couldn't you?" Angela asked. "Sure, you could," she offered sympathetically.

Bella and Angela made their way over to the white wooden wishing well, trimmed in blue, remarking how pretty it was before reading the memorial plaque on it dedicated to a Harvard student. "That's really sad, but what a tribute to have this here. I like this idea better than a bench with a little plaque on it, but I guess either way, both are designed to make us stop, take pause and remember the life of a person who has passed away," Angela said thoughtfully.

"Do we throw money in?" Bella unzipped a small pouch she had pulled out of her jacket and handed Angela a quarter. "You go first," Bella told Angela.

"Okay," Angela closed her eyes and held the quarter with both hands before tossing it in. "Your turn."

Taking her cue from Angela, Bella silently made her wish with her eyes closed and gently threw it into the well.

"Rest in peace," Angela said with ease. "Thanks for hearing our wishes." Angela resumed jogging in place, waiting for Bella, who took a minute to breathe the air and take in the site of the lake behind the wishing well before nodding she was ready.

~x~

Saturday

Bella and Mike had been playing phone tag all week, mostly because Mike refused to allow for the time difference between them, though Bella would be lying if she said she hadn't seen his name pop up and ignored his call more than twice this week. Once she was sure he wasn't hopping on a plane to come see her, she had finally gotten him to agree on a time to call her this weekend. She had also re-gifted the roses he sent, making one of the helpful little old ladies who worked at Widener Library very happy earlier this week.

"What's this?" Bella asked Angela, looking at the small white box sitting on the counter. There was a note stuck on it that said, "For Bella."

"I don't know. Alice dropped it off early this morning. She said it was waiting for her at the coffee house last night when she got there for her shift."

Bella picked up the note, reading it to herself.

_Bella,_

_You've promised me twice now that you _

_would come see me sing at the coffee house._

_I won't be singing there ever again after_

_tomorrow night._

_I go on at 8 pm, but I'll be there earlier._

_Please remember._

_Edward_

Bella opened the box to find a necklace and a silver pendant with a raised impression of two tiny hands connected at their pinkies. It was pretty and seemed personal. Maybe too personal.

_He shouldn't be giving me gifts like this, _she thought.

She admired the sentiment of it, but she wasn't going to be able to accept it. Not after knowing what she knows.

"Can I see? What is it?" Angela asked before Bella held it out for her to examine. "Oh now that's…_different_? What's the note say?"

"It's from Edward. He was just reminding me that he's going to be singing at the coffee house again tonight."

"Well you should go…if you want to, that is."

"Torture myself by staring at someone I can't have?" Bella asked sarcastically. "Guess which blonde he chooses to go home with tonight? Maybe I'll bring roses and prompt him to hand them out to the girls he wishes to continue on with…."

"Or maybe, not make it about him and just make it about you going to keep Alice company like you've always done. Besides, I think things are rocky with her and Riley."

"Oh. Yeah, maybe," Bella said.

Angela said goodbye because she was going out to the store to pick up some things for the study session she was hosting that night. Bella's fingers quickly typed a text to Edward as soon as Angela closed the door.

**Thank you for the necklace.**

Edward answered almost immediately.

**Hi. I'm glad you got it. Do you like it?**

**Yes. But it was really unnecessary.**

**It's a reminder, Bella, of our pinky swear.**

_I made one promise to him. One. _Bella thought.

**Maybe we'll get you a dog collar.**

**What's that supposed to mean? **

**Never mind.**

There was a long pause, which was okay with both of them before he resumed the conversation.

**Will I see you tonight?**

**I should probably stop by and return the necklace.**

He didn't really want her to return the necklace, but if it was reason enough to get her there, then he didn't care.

**Or maybe I'll just drop in to keep Alice company. ****Maybe I can stay for one set. T****wo sets if you sing different songs. **

Edward suddenly found himself laughing.

It seemed like she was talking herself into it.

And, he was just going to let her keep going until she convinced herself.

Why was she fighting this so much?

**There won't be any pulling me outside. ****You're free to do that with whatever blondes ****might be there tonight, though.**

_Uhhhh…Okay? _Why did he always feel like he kept struggling to own and keep the moment with her? What the hell was she talking about? Was she even being serious?

**I go on at 8 pm. ****And JFTR, ****I prefer brunettes.**

~x~

"Is he here yet?" Alice asked Angela as she breezed through the condo's door later that Saturday evening.

"Who?" Bella asked.

"What do you mean who…that Ben guy!" Alice said with a smile.

"No, no one is here yet, but he's definitely coming." Angela was setting out chips and dip on the kitchen bar in anticipation of the members of her study group arriving soon.

"Are you coming down to the coffee house tonight?" Alice asked Bella.

"Maybe later. I'm supposed to hear from Mike tonight."

"You know_ he's_ going to be there, right? He's signed up to perform again tonight. Did you ever ask him about the girl from last week?"

"No."

Alice snorted. "Well, maybe she'll be there tonight."

"Ugh, maybe, I'll skip the coffee house then."

Alice had a better idea. "How about you come down and hang out in the back. Edward never has to know you were there, but you can still keep me company. And hear him sing. Nothing wrong with how that boy sings."

"What about Riley? Isn't he coming tonight?"

"Probably not."

"Why? Something going on?"

"I think Riley is a little more _bad _boy than even _I _can handle. And I can handle plenty."

"What do you mean?"

"It means," Alice rubbed her finger back and forth under her nose. "He likes to party way more than I do, with too much of this." Again, she rubbed her finger under her nose.

"Ohhh," Bella said surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, and I'm not putting up with that, so I told him he either loses his habit or he loses me."

"Good for you," Bella told Alice with an approving look just as Bella's phone rang.

"It's Mike. I have to take this. I've been waiting a long time to talk to him." Alice gave Bella a quick hug and wished her and Angela both good luck, as she motioned to her that she was leaving now.

"Hi Mike," Bella answered the phone as she headed down the hall and into her room.

~x~

It turned out that Mike had some lame excuse as to why he didn't have the time to talk long and would need to call her back in a couple of hours. "What, I'm not _imposing_ on your Saturday night, am I?" he asked curtly. "I thought you _wanted _to talk to me."

"No Mike, I'll be here, just waiting for you to call back," Bella said sweetly, but she knew. It was like he was intentionally trying to sabotage any life he thought she might have.

~x~

Edward was going over what he needed to say to Bella if her hearing the songs didn't ignite the memories tonight. He was carefully trying to think over everything Emmett had told him on the phone yesterday when it hit him. Katie—his _very blonde_ cousin who came to the coffee house last week. Is _that_ what this was about?

Edward pulled out his phone, slightly relieved as he laughed how this girl was driving him crazy.

He copied the URL of Katie's Facebook page and texted it to Bella.

**This was the other surprise ****you missed last week. ****I hope this means I'll see you tonight.**

_What was this?_ Bella wondered as she clicked on the link from him. It took her to a Facebook page for Katie Cullen. Currently attending Boston University. And there, on her page, was a picture of her and Edward captioned, "Visiting my cousin at Harvard" with last Saturday's date.

Cousin? Bella brought her hand up to cover her mouth and stifle a giggle. Had it only been a week since she had last spoken to him? Just over a week since she had last touched him...since he had last kissed her? It felt like longer...so much longer. She slid the pendant back and forth along the chain around her neck, as she thought of all the reasons she had to go to the coffee house, even if just briefly.

**~x~**

**A/n:** There is a link to a picture of the necklace/pendant on my profile page. :) Thought you might need to see it to know just how sweet of a gesture it was...then again, maybe what you envisioned in your mind was perfect!

If there's "a list" then I think Rosalie just got added on to it...

thanks again, guys!

be good,

kiTT :)


	19. Regret

**A/n: ****  
**

**Well...I'll tell ya, I expected the Harvard Ladies in Waiting to be all over those wishing well scenes in the last chapter, especially those of you that know me. It just might have been a little 'Call Me Maybe' reference. Edward was complaining to Emmett that he can't get Bella to talk to him. She told him not to call but yet one phone call at this point could clear up a lot..._maybe._ ;)**

**Thanks to all your reviews, PMs, encouraging words, *hearting* of this story, and trust! Hope you guys remember your HCW details before reading this chapter.**

**Extra special thanks, spanks, and shanks this chapter to TwiWeasel for all of her above, beyond, and below (LOL) help! **

**Thanks to storywrtr for an extra set of keen eyes over this! **

**Any mistakes are mine and I'll go back in and fix.**

****Disclaimer: Heavy use of Twilight quotes will be apparent in this chapter. No copyright infringement intended. Characters and dialogue belong to Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg. **

**Virtual quote blender belongs to me. *sets blender to Angst Blend* That's your warning! **

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Regret**

~x~

The necklace had been on and off three times.

Bella had been on the phone for over an hour listening to all of his reasons and propositions. She continued to try to get through to Mike that things were different between them now. Things had changed and there was no going back. Not listening, Mike finally broke down and brought up the one topic he had been trying to avoid.

Bella had been glancing at her alarm clock on her white bedside table, trying to keep an eye on the time. She was laying on her bed performing her home instructed physical therapy exercises for her leg when Mike completely blindsided her with the one topic that had already been on her mind.

"Is this about Cullen?" he accused.

"What!" Bella immediately dropped her raised leg back down to the bed. "What do you mean?" Bella asked surprised. "Oh my God, have you been spying on me?"

"Bella," he said impatiently. "He told me, you know."

_Edward? _"I don't…I don't know what you mean. Told you what?"

"That you were going to go to Harvard. You had told him. You never even mentioned that you knew him."

"Mike, I _don't_ know what you're talking about."

"Oh don't give me that Bella. He knew all about us," he seethed. "Are you going to lie to me and tell me you don't know him?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I do know him."

Angela's study session was suddenly getting loud, and Mike heard some of the voices. "He's there now, isn't he?"

Bella stood up and walked over to her door, closing it. "Mike, no. I really don't know what you're-"

"Yeah, right, Bella. I guess you just conveniently forgot to tell me about him. I knew if you went there you'd end up one of them. Stuck-up Ivy League bitch!"

"That's it!" Bella yelled into her phone. "I've been trying to smooth things over expecting that we could be friends, but maybe there is no hope of that. So you hear me and hear me good Michael Paul Newton. I can't do this if you are going to be so pigheaded and spiteful. If you need to believe I'm stuck up to make this easier then go right ahead. And in the meantime, I don't want you to call me or send me roses. I don't want you calling my parents. And don't you ever threaten to show up at my door uninvited again!" Bella took a breath before she very calmly and directly told him, "Mike, when I tell you that I have no idea what you are talking about, then I expect you to believe me."

"Bella…Bella…come on, I didn't mean it."

"Look, Mike…." Bella relented, taking in a deep breath. She knew she had to admit a little more to him then she had previously. "You don't get it. I _want _to be here at Harvard. I know what you wanted for your future, where you want to be. I even admire that you want to continue and better your family's business, but after the accident, I just can never, ever go anywhere near Forks or that area ever again." Bella paused, wiping a tear. "We just aren't meant to be, Mike. You need to move on from me."

Bella sobbed slightly, but it wasn't emotion for Mike. It was for her situation with Edward.

"I tried to tell you that before I left. You need to let go of me and find someone else, and when you find her..." Bella paused knowing how true the next words she was about to say would be. "When you find another girl, give yourself a chance to fall for her because she _will_ deserve to be the only girl in your life, not just someone who is there because I'm not."

Bella didn't know if she had completely gotten through to him the way she had hoped, but as far as Bella was concerned, once she had hung up from that conversation with him, and lightly tossed her phone onto her bed, she had successfully ended the chapter of her life that included Mike.

Bella felt relieved but not quite ready to leave her room when her eyes fell upon the white box on her bureau. She picked it up and opened the lid. The pendant was shiny and whimsical, but it didn't hold her attention long as Bella's thoughts kept going back over a certain part of her conversation with Mike. She just couldn't seem to understand it.

_Why had Mike brought up Edward?_

**~At the coffee house~**

Edward's sets were over, and much to his disappointment, Bella hadn't made it to the coffee house.

"Alice?" He called to her from the stage. "Alice?"

He felt like she was ignoring him, too. He was sure that she had gotten one of the waiters to serve his table earlier on purpose. He had tried to talk to her sooner, but she kept putting a finger up to him signaling that she was busy.

"_Alice__!_" She finally stopped to look over his way. "Is Bella okay? I thought she was coming here tonight. Have you heard from her? Did she stop by and I missed her?"

"In case you didn't notice, Edward, we've been short handed and kind of busy here tonight, so I haven't even had a chance to check my phone, but I did see her earlier and she's doing quite well, actually."

"Thanks for giving her my gift." _And unthanks for ratting me out about my cousin. _Edward assumed it had to have been her anyway. Then again, if Bella didn't show up tonight, maybe she still didn't believe him. Or maybe she didn't even bother to click on the link.

"Yeah, though I'm not sure why I bothered..." She perused him up and down.

He followed her gaze and questioned her with an impatient, "What?"

Alice felt a presence behind her and turned around to see a woman who had just started to take a step to get around Alice.

Blocking her, Alice stepped into her path. "Did you need something?" she asked in a curt and unhelpful way. "And if so, can it wait until I'm done with my conversation here with my boyfriend?"

"Oh, he's _your_..."

Alice twitched her nose and gave the woman a quick nodding of her head.

"Well I just wanted to tell you how _brilliant_ of a singer I think you are." The woman directed her words at Edward.

"Uh huh." Alice made a face. "Sure you did."

Edward quietly thanked the woman before she stomped back off to her table. Then he looked at Alice questioningly. "What was that?"

"Oh come on, I did you a favor. She's too old for you, and I happen to know for a fact she's married," Alice told him. "Besides, you and I were having a private conversation here that needs to be cougar-free. Now where was I?"

Alice shook her head and gave a disapproving chuckle. "Oh yeah. I'm a free spirit type of gal. I get it. I sometimes juggle more than one guy but nothing too serious. And they always know the score. I'm honest with them up front. And you..." Alice gave him a shrug and a look that meant _I surrender,_ _there's just no other way of saying this_. "You're hoTT. There's no doubt about it, Edward! Girls I waited on tonight even asked me for your number. When I told them 'no,' they left me _their_ numbers to pass on to you."

She pulled a few pieces of paper out of her black apron and held them out to him. "Speaking of which, here, these are for you."

Edward was taken aback by what she was saying. He pulled his wallet out of his guitar case, where he had stashed it, and put it aside because he was going to _insist_ on paying his tab tonight. As he placed his guitar into its case, he tried to be clear with Alice that he wasn't about to accept anything she was handing out.

"I don't know what you're going on about Alice, but I'm not interested."

"Sure you are, Edward."

"No," Edward said firmly and paused. "I'm not," he enunciated each word. His raised inflection hadn't escaped Alice, but she played along.

"Look, Edward it's _oh-_kay," Alice persisted in an almost playful manner. She waved her hand up and down in front of him as if to put his good looks on further display. "You can get any girl. Any _number_ of girls you want. So go pick someone. Anyone _other_ than Bella. She started out here with a lot of extra shit on her plate. Way more than just classes. I know you helped with rides and put on a good show, but you crossed the line with her."

He picked his head up to look at her. "Crossed the line? Crossed it how?" he asked annoyed.

"If you're going to be sleeping around while you're ex-girlfriend is still in the picture, you know, whatever, but here," she shook the papers toward him again, small slips of torn paper with names, messages, and phone numbers on them, "just find someone else to lead on like she's the only girl in the world. Don't toy with _my _friend's heart."

Edward snapped the last clasp on his case with a loud _click_. "Tanya?" he asked confused. _What did Tanya have to do with this?_

"Oh ho, ho. _Tanya,_ is that her name? The girl you're in love with 'now more than ever,'" Alice sneered, dramatically throwing in air quotes over the last part.

_What the actual fuck,_ thought Edward. There is only one girl he's ever felt that way about and he's never said it around here, at least not out loud to anyone that he could recall.

"What? _No!_ I was never in love with …" Edward stopped himself. "Who did you hear that from?" he asked out of curiosity before it dawned on him that if Alice had this impression of him, then this is what Bella thought of him, too. "Fuck! Is that what Bella _thinks _of me?" he demanded from Alice. "That I'm in love with my ex-girlfriend? Is _that _what this is about?"

Thoughts raked over a listing of who he might have mistakenly conveyed this to. He had barely worked to make any friends. He lived alone, off campus, and no one knew his business. Even if it wasn't something he confided in anyone at Harvard, he knew it was a truth—something he felt—just not about Tanya, or any girl, other than Bella.

Alice huffed. She knew she was going out of her way to give him a hard time on behalf of Bella, but ultimately, she gave in to Edward. She felt like she owed him an explanation, not just because up until last week she had thought he was a good guy to Bella, but also because he had stepped in that night and tried to protect her from those two drunk imbeciles.

Edward waited for an answer. Alice relented with a sigh, relaxing the hand that had rested on her hip and easing her tone with him.

"Angela overheard you saying it on the phone weeks ago, before she even knew who you were. I guess she saw you at the library or it might have been the Coop. You said you wanted to start things back up again with her, the girl you've_ loved forever_, or something like that. She only just realized it had been you, last week after you two actually met."

Edward's fist flew to his head. He sucked in a breath, amazed at how easily he had tripped himself up. "Fuck! And you mean to tell me _this_ is why she's been avoiding me?"

Alice nodded.

"So what?" He yanked at his hair. "She thinks that I'm…Oh _crap__!_ Alice, I swear to you I'm not that guy!"

"You're denying saying it?"

"No. I'm not. But it's not…_You_ _don't understand!_ Do you know where she is? Is she home now or did she go out?"

Alice glanced at her watch. "How should I know? But hey. . ._like_, don't waste your time, because the last time I saw her she was on the phone with her ex-boyfriend. Or is it ex-fiance?" Alice brought a finger up to her cheek and tapped it before shrugging. "Or maybe, he's back to being her fiancé again by now."

Edward looked back at Alice, horrified. Knowing she had gotten a rise out of him wasn't enough for her in that moment. She continued to taunt him. "Two can play at your game, Edward," Alice was calling out as he picked up his guitar, draped his coat over it, and stormed off, stopping as he leaned his back against the cold glass door. Edward didn't give a care to the remaining patrons there sipping coffee who may have heard him.

"If you say so, Alice, except it's not a game. She doesn't love_ him_." He shoved the door hard with his back, forcing it open, and took off to his car.

Alice was about to call Bella but realized Edward had left his wallet on a stool by the stage. Scooping it up, she ran toward the door, opened it and hollered out, "Edward, you're wallet!"

But it was too late. He had already ripped out of his parking spot. She slunk back inside, half brokenhearted for Bella and half proud that she given him a piece of her mind in defense of Bella. The slips of paper were cutting into her hand, so with a shrug, she deposited the phone numbers into his wallet before placing it behind the counter, figuring he'd realize he had forgotten it and be back for it sooner or later.

**~At the condo~**

Angela's quiet study session had turned into a loud, social mixer. Bella had met Ben and the rest of Angela's study group, but she remained bothered and distracted. She couldn't get any of the conversation off her mind enough to try to socialize. She was too riled up by Mike and what he was insinuating.

She told Angela that she had talked to Mike but left out any details beyond telling her things were status quo. Unable to settle down, she told Angela she was going to get some air, but as she put on her jacket and grabbed her purse, she corrected herself, stating she may go out for a bit.

Bella found herself standing outside on the sidewalk that lined her complex's parking lot. With her hand grasping her phone, her thumb hovered over the screen, knowing what she wanted to do. She planned to confront him about what Mike said—but the question was this: did she want to just call him, call Alice to see if he was still at the coffee house, or call a cab to take her directly there.

Bella made her decision and was just about to press the 'Send' button when her phone rang, startling her. Edward's name flashed across the screen letting her know he was the caller.

Bella watched as a few cars zoomed in and out of the parking lot, one blinding her with its lights as it neared the empty row of parking spaces in front of her that she held her free arm up to shield her eyes as she brought her phone up to her ear.

"Hello," she answered, stepping back as the car pulled directly into the spot in front of her. "Hello?" Bella said again into the phone when there was no answer.

With the headlights still glaring, the car door opened. "Hi." His words rang out in stereo.

"Edward? Wait, hold on, some_ idiot_ is blinding me with his car lights."

With that, the lights turned off. Bella removed her hand that was protecting her eyes and blinked away the spots that remained in her vision. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her when she saw, standing in front of her, his hair strewn about and dark jacket unbuttoned, Edward.

"I'm the idiot," he confirmed. Bella heard his voice both through the phone at her ear, as well as carried across the distance of the parking space.

She gasped, stumbling backward in surprise and simultaneously dropping her phone when she realized it really was him standing there in front of her. Her shoulders tensed inward, as he approached her in quick, long strides. He slipped his own phone into his pocket before reaching down and retrieving the two pieces hers had split into. Popping the plastic piece back onto her phone, he held it out to her asking, "Are you okay?"

"I- I- … was just heading out to the coffee house," she answered him, accepting the phone but still suffering from some disbelief that it was him standing before her.

"_This late_?" Edward was suffering from a similar disbelief for a second and then felt somewhat relieved as he made the assumption that she was planning on coming to see him.

"Yeah, um, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, I have to talk to you too. I mean, I've wanted to talk to you all week, but apparently I have even more to say now," Edward said wishing he didn't have to explain it all to her. He had always just _expected _the memories to come back to her. That would have been easier on everyone. Unless, that was what she wanted to tell him, that she _had _remembered.

"Not out here, though. Can I come up?" He pointed toward her bedroom window.

"No. Um, Angela has a few people over. It's pretty loud in there."

"Get in, then." Edward walked back to his car and held the passenger door open. Heavy and chilly, the air was suddenly threatening a downpour. Bella slid easily into his warm car and buckled up.

It felt like forever since she had been in his car, and she breathed in the heady scent of leather seats and _Edward_. Edward drove away from the lot, not knowing where to go or what to start saying. He laughed at the distraction she provided him when she nonchalantly said how she had missed the smell of his car.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"I... don't know," he lifted one hand from the wheel and used it to make a shrugging gesture.

They were getting farther away from her condo when Bella recognized they were traveling the same familiar roads they used to take to the Holyoke Center. As they approached the park entrance, Bella ordered him to pull in there, and he obliged. He swerved to a stop in the parking lot and wasted no time in cutting the car lights and engine, worried about being seen. The park was closed after dusk, and it was already after 11 pm.

She opened the door and stepped out into the chilled air under a night sky that was whispering rain. He got out and walked around the car, reaching her side.

Bella took the lead, making quick steps out of the parking lot as she hurried ahead and onto a path.

"Okay then, I guess we're walking," he muttered to himself sarcastically.

He caught up with her and reached out to take her hand, but she shook it off, instead wrapping her arm tightly around her waist.

"What? I can't hold your hand?"

"I'm not sure... I just think it means something different to you."

_What the fuck did she mean by that? _

Edward snapped. "At the very least Bella, it means I've missed you, damn it." Bella raised an eyebrow to him but said nothing in return.

They walked in silence, both noticing the occasional rain droplets and ominous sky, keeping their hands to themselves. They hadn't made it far from the parking lot before Bella stopped, exploding before the sky had a chance to, "Okay! Just stop!" Her words forced Edward to stop and face her as her arms crisscrossed in the air and then flew out to her sides.

"Tell me why my ex-boyfriend _knows_ you!" she demanded in an accusatory manner.

"What did he tell you?" Edward missed the significance of her calling Mike her 'ex-boyfriend' because he had just confirmed what Alice had told him, that Bella_ had _been talking to Mike. _What a number this guy must have done on her._

"Nothing," Bella ranted. "He told me nothing! Why do you think I'm asking you!"

"Why didn't you ask him? Aren't you getting back together with him?" Edward was ready for this fight and took his angry, metaphorical swing. "What are you going to do, leave? Move to Forks to run a bait-and-tackle shop? With _him?_" he snarled with hurt and sarcasm.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know about _any _of that?"

Frustration peaked, spilling over into heightened tempers for both of them.

Edward fumed at the thought of her going back to Mike. _How could she? _Why was she going to give up at Harvard after she went through so much to get here? He rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands before shaking his open palms in front of him as he asked, "Why Bella…why would you do that?"

"Ugh!" His fists went to his hair in frustration as he searched the ground looking for his words. "I mean, isn't that why you broke it off with him? So you could come to Harvard and save yourself all this _regret_?"

"You think I would have regretted _not _coming to Harvard if I had stayed with him?" Bella's tone had escalated into the night sky.

His head snapped up and his eyes fixed her with an unbelieving stare.

"I know you would have!" he nearly shouted.

Bella snapped back at him, "You don't know _anything_!"

His jaw tense and lips pursed, Edward tried not to show how confused he felt. If she had remembered him from the meadow then why was she even talking to Mike? Had she only remembered a few details? He needed her to remember _everything_ about them, and he still hoped to coax the memories of their dream world out of her.

And there was something else that had been bothering him. That night he carried her to bed, he hadn't realized it then, but later he wondered, _Had she tapped into those memories and recognized something else in him in that moment?_ It was something in how she expressed her recognition of him, something in her eyes that reminded him of the meadow.

_Remember __me__, damn it, Bella!_ _Remember us!_

He stalked forward, as she took steps off the path to back away from him until she could go no further, her back framed up against a tree. He breathed in a good dose of the heavy air that had picked up traces of her perfume, calming him, but fanning his desire to claim her and what they shared even more, here in the place that reminded him the most of the meadow.

"Fine!" Edward yelled back before lowering the volume of his tone. He knew it wasn't her fault that he could remember everything and she was at a disadvantage. He wanted to give her another chance. "Then why don't you explain it to me," he said firmly. "Tell me what it is you think_ I _don't know."

Bella recoiled, relaxing against the tree slightly. Her fingers traced over little carvings in the smooth bark, no doubt young lovebirds' initials like B.S. + E.C outlined by a heart. She shook the thought out of her mind but couldn't help wondering if the couple, whose initials her fingers trailed over, was still together.

Bella suddenly gulped at his proximity as he reached his arm out, lacing a few strands of her hair in his fingers splayed against the tree.

"I told you about my accident, already."

"On our date," Edward took the opportunity to remind her. It took everything he had not to say to her, '_when we did this' _and lean in to kiss her.

"Yeah," Bella brushed the more recent memory aside. "When I woke up and I saw Mike, I took one look at him and had these overwhelming feelings…"

Edward turned his face into his shoulder, muttering, "Spare me the details about your feelings for him." The last thing he wanted was to have to listen to her favorable words about Mike.

Bella ignored him. "I woke up so disoriented. I could barely understand where I was, because of where I felt I had just been. But as I looked at Mike, it just all seemed so . . ._wrong?_" Edward looked back at her and watched as Bella contorted her face slightly. "As confused as I felt, I had this feeling." Her eyes widened thinking about the memory, and she nodded her head. "I mean it was more than a feeling…it was…"

Bella trailed off, just as Edward's ears were burning. She was talking about being in the hospital.

"It was what, Bella? Come on, say it," he coached her along.

"It was like... somehow I _knew _Mike wasn't it for me, and I felt so lost. A part of me wished I had never woken up."

_Ahhh. _It was exactly what he should have expected to hear her say, and yet it took him by complete surprise. Those were the last words he had told her in the meadow…that's why he looked at her when he sang that song that night in the coffee house. He had begged her in the meadow to remember, if she remembered nothing else, to always remember that someone would be out there who could love her so much more than Mike.

_Wait. . .then did this mean she _had_ remembered? _

Before he could ask her, it dawned on him. _Fuck! I should have been there._

Edward had conceded to his parents the day when he woke up after the overdose. They were so furious with the measures he had taken that they drew the line in the sand when it came to overwhelming Bella in the hospital. They convinced him it was best to not intrude into her life and to let things play out, to wait and see what kind of decisions she made.

But now, in this uncertain moment, hearing her say this, he felt like he had failed her by not being there.

As the night sky flared with a streak of lightning, so did his anger.

Anger at his parents.

Anger at her wavering over Mike.

Anger at losing out on another week with her over a _misunderstanding_.

Anger that she hadn't made it to hear him sing.

Anger that things hadn't just fallen into place.

Amid the flashes of light against the dark sky, the emotion of it all was building. So much was unresolved between them, and he wanted it resolved..._now_. He wanted to express every bit of love and affection he had for her, but he wanted her to know the truth first. He wanted her to remember their story.

In the same moment, a loud crackling of thunder clanged around them, just as intense as the surge of desire coursing through him for Bella to just admit to knowing him, to look into his eyes and really_ see _him. To tell him it was all real between them.

"I should have been relieved to see him but…" Bella paused, her mind traveling miles away to that day.

"But?" Edward asked hopeful, watching and waiting.

He told himself she _had to have _remembered. Finally.

He took a step closer to her, forcing her back to press into the tree; her heels rose to meet the bark. Her face dropped down.

"Look at me," he breathed. He slid his hand down from the tree to stroke her cheek with his thumb.

Bella returned her eyes to him, squared her shoulders, and dug her nails into those carved grooves in the bark, bracing herself.

"Go on," he encouraged.

"But…all I could think was that I was looking into the wrong set of eyes. Not the kind... gentle...green ones…" Bella was too distracted looking into _his _eyes. She stopped herself before she said something that sounded foolish to him, changing what she was going to say to a more generic version.

"It probably sounds silly, but I woke up knowing that there was someone out there who could love me more than Mike."

_That's it, baby! _Edward rejoiced in his mind._ Me! _

"Not could, Bella," he exclaimed ardently, "_Does!_"

He seized her face into his palms roughly, swiping his mouth once over her lips, his thumbs up against her temples, pressing and claiming, before forcibly sealing his lips to hers. Bella was immensely caught off guard but too easily caught up in him, in his kiss—the feel of his hands on her face against the wet night air, the quick redirections of their mouths, and the continuous suction like he couldn't get enough of her. _Her! _They kissed differently than any of their kisses before that day. This kiss was absolutely that dance of desire she had always read about—his tongue led, and her tongue followed. Her hands repeatedly grasped at the thick lapels of his winter coat, the anger she had built up from the phone call dissolving away with each tug and pull. When all of her harsh feelings had left her, she settled her hands onto his chest, as her own chest inflated with something that felt like it was straight out of a dream.

Edward Cullen _still_ didn't kiss a girl like he was in love with someone else.

Thunder crashed hard as the skies opened up and rain enveloped them, washing away all of the insecurities he had over Bella leaving him for Mike.

"Edward, I don't..."

He wiped the rain from her face, his thumb swiping across her lips. "Why do you distrust yourself so much?" he asked her softly before tilting her chin up and kissing her again.

They didn't mind the precipitation at first, but when lightning streaked across the sky and thunder boomed around them again, this time more loudly, Edward broke the kiss and grabbed her hand, running for the car.

***click, click* **

He unlocked the car doors as they approached. When he reached to open the rear passenger door, Bella hesitated.

"What are you doing?" she asked loudly.

He opened the door to the backseat. "Getting us out of the rain."

Wrapping his arm around hers, he slid in first, pulling her in with him and closing the door behind her just as the rain, angry and loud, unleashed from the sky and poured down furiously upon the car.

Edward reached into the pocket behind the driver's seat and grabbed a small towel he had stashed in there. He ran it over his wet hair as Bella laughed. Watching him with the towel and remembering the cooler he pulled out of his trunk that day they were there previously, Bella couldn't help but think aloud, "You're always prepared, aren't you?"

Sitting facing each other, the laughter subsided as he reached out with the towel in hand and dabbed at water streaming down the side of her face.

"I wasn't prepared for _you_," he told her before leaning in and kissing her. His hand released the towel behind her so his fingers could lace within her damp hair at her neckline as his other hand cupped the side of her face. He used his thumb to smear away more rain droplets.

Their heads bobbed up and down, left and right as their lips moved together in a soft but rhythmic kiss. She held fast to the thick lapels of his coat. As she shifted her knees between his legs, he slowly pulled her down with him as he leaned backward, lowering his head until it came to rest on the door's armrest.

_God, he loved this. Her. Her scent. Her taste. This… reconnecting._

_God, she loved this. He smelled even better in the rain. _All thoughts of Mike _and everything else_ faded away. Kissing him was all she could think about. The feel of him clouded everything.

His fingertips waved over her pink rain-kissed skin. He held her face just far away from his to look into her eyes. "I never gave up on us." His tongue flicked out intentionally, presumptuously. "I'm done giving you space," he told her in between kisses. "Do you have any idea how much I want to be here with you? How much I've missed you?"

Bella purred in response to his words.

"Did you just purr?" he asked her, surprised, as she pulled her face back and hovered over him slightly. He had never heard her make such an erotic sound before, and he wanted to hear it again.

"Maybe," Bella smiled through a whisper.

"Hmmm, let's see if we can get you to do that again." His hand moved to clasp her neck as he pulled her lips to meet his urgently. Her hair hung over, and she reached up to flip it to the side out of their faces. He ran a hand through her damp tresses before groaning, his head dropping to one side. "You smell so good in the rain. I hadn't realized last time."

As another purr involuntarily escaped her, Edward smiled that he had gotten what he wanted.

The rain surged outside all around them, creating a bubble they were in, with just each other. As much as her body was tempting him, he knew he needed to slow things down and sort through everything, to fill in any gaps around what she remembers and to make sure she wouldn't leave Harvard.

Edward slowed the kiss, but Bella ended it. Because as good as this felt, [and kissing Edward felt good…_everywhere good_] in her mind she knew she had no intention of going further with him.

Except...physically there was something so undeniably irresistible about him—something magnetic and an undeniable pull she had felt at orientation. How easily she was drawn to him and yet how difficult it was to tear herself away. So, before Bella denied herself any more pleasure she suspected this man and his fantastic hands and his amazing mouth could bring her, she reconsidered.

Why couldn't this moment just be about the two of them? And shut the rest of the world out—all the things Alice and Angela had to say, all the pressures of classes, all the reasons why she shouldn't be here with him. Why couldn't this moment hinge on the one thing she had always _felt_ about him?

Bella leaned back down, kissing him on his neck lightly until reaching his perfect, prickly jawline.

He groaned. It was hard to tear himself away, too. "Bella, we should probably talk about what happened in Forks…and Mike."

She could feel the vibrations of his words as she slid her lips and tongue along his Adam's apple.

Thunder unleashed around them, almost on cue at the mention of that name, and Edward grasped her back firmly, holding her to him to combat that slight internal panic that the sound of such a boom incites. She stilled in his arms briefly, but upon hearing the word 'Forks' she was even more determined to have some fun. She didn't want to think back to her time there. "I'm never going back there," she murmured at his throat.

She licked from the base of his jaw upward, feeling the grittiness of his stubble, swirling her tongue along his jawline until she reached his ear. "Sit up," she whispered as she pulled herself off of him and moved to the far side of the seat, sitting back on her knees.

_Fuck! _He twinged and wriggled over what she was doing to him.

He sat up, slightly amused by her order, shrugging off his coat, placing it over the back of the driver's seat.

Bella shrugged off her coat, too, tossing it lightly into the front seat. Edward came to sit in the middle of the back seat, his long legs stretched out behind each of the front seats.

"We need to sort out some things between us," Edward started, just as the rain poured down even harder around them, darkening the world outside the car windows to a pitch black. "I want you to know something…"

Bella ignored him as she leaned over and whispered seductively into his right ear, "I already know. The safest place to be in a thunderstorm…" then in a quick move, straddled him, taking him by complete surprise, grasping each of his biceps as leverage before leaning down to lick along the shell of his left ear, "is in a car," she breathed hot air in his ear before finishing, "with me."

_Oh fuck, Cullen!_ How had she made that sound so …_hot!_ Her warm breath swirled in his ear and filled his mind with all types of thoughts, as his heart sped up; blood rushed through his body, hyper-speeding to his dick.

_What was she trying to do to him? Whatever it was, it was working. They had all the time in the world to talk__. . . later._

Bella rubbed up against his prominent bulge as she pulled her body back and then pressed her lips down to his mouth. He squirmed and slouched down in the center-most part of the backseat, taking a firm hold of her hips, holding her in place as he thrust upward against her, craving the friction. Bella kissed him harder, in a tongue-takes-no-prisoners way as they both vied for control of each other's unspoken lust. She reached out and found his hands, interlacing her fingers with his before guiding his right hand, slowly lowering it down past her belly button and beyond the button of her jeans.

_When did her pants get undone? Oh, who the fuck cares, I'm touching her panties! And they're all . . .soft. . .and silky. . .What's this? Lace too?_

"What color?" Edward ground against her mouth.

"What?"

"Your panties..." he panted. "What color are they?"

"_Purple_." Bella gave a slight smirk to his very vocal gasp as she bit down playfully onto his bottom lip.

Edward's fingertips lightly traced the outermost area of her purple panties, like he was trying to both picture them and memorize her, then he slowly worked his way inward, slipping his fingers beneath the lace-trimmed edges. He opened her, the corners of his mouth stretched to the furthest as he smiled in satisfaction at how wet she was already, as he swirled her juices around with his fingers, taking his time to work her delicate skin. Her hips bucked in reaction to his touch, and she kissed him more forcibly.

"More?" he breathed, seeking permission.

Her hands moved from his shoulders to his head, each grabbing a fistful of hair, slightly pulling at it, as she lifted up off of him, giving him more access. "More," she murmured in desire-driven compliance.

Two fingers delved into her, and she clenched down hard around him letting out an ethereal moan. He reached his free hand up to swipe his thumb across her lips then settled his hand along the side of her hair and face. "Relax for me," he told her. He kissed her until her hips were swaying rhythmically to his touch.

With each new moan that escaped her, he knew he was closer to bringing her to a piercing pleasure. He groaned at the thought that soon he might have the chance for his dick to be buried deep within her and not just his fingers.

"_Don't_ …stop…"

His fingers quickened their pace, as his thumb found and massaged her clit, causing her to cry out with a sharper pleading just as….

****tap, tap****

Edward heard a light tapping on the window, which he quickly dismissed as the rain pelting as it started up again. Too immersed in Bella, he hadn't seen the headlights of an approaching truck.

He grasped her hair tightly behind her ear, silently begging her to look at him. He needed to see her eyes.

A muffled voice could be heard outside, and then a beam of light shone in from the front window. "Is someone in there? This park is closed. I'm a park ranger and you need to leave."

They were holding each other's gaze, but their look changed to open-eyed wild surprise at the voice of their unexpected company. It was too late for Bella to hold back. She dropped her head down and bit hard into Edward's shoulder to stifle her cries as she shattered around his fingers, reaching her climax with the added excitement of being caught in the act.

****knock, knock****

_Fuck!_ thought Edward as he panted and kissed her ear, complimenting her with a quick, almost breathless, "God, you're sexy."

The park ranger continued, "If there is someone in there, then you need to move this car or else I'll have to have it towed."

Adrenaline coursed through an exhilarated Edward, as he removed his hand and slid Bella off of him. He looked around frantically, grabbing below him and finding the towel they had used earlier to dry off with. He wiped his hand before digging into his pocket for his keys. "Don't go anywhere," he whispered to her as he kissed her on the temple. Bella collapsed across the backseat, satiated and light, wondering, _where am I gonna go_, as he climbed to the front, turned the key and put the window down slightly. On the other side of the door was an older, Wilford Brimley looking man, with very little hair, a white mustache, and rain-streaked glasses, shining a flashlight in his eyes.

"Uhh, sorry, sir. I was just driving through that torrential downpour and didn't feel safe so I pulled out, uhh, I mean off the road."

"Uh huh. You the only one in there, son?" he asked with his thick accent.

"Yes, sir."

"Well this here park closes at dusk. I know that was some wicked rain, but it has let up enough, so you need to be getting on your way. Didn't you see my headlights?"

"Uhh, no sir. I think the rain lulled me to sleep. I'm up now, though."

Bella stifled a giggle behind Edward, and he reached behind his seat to give a playful squeeze to whatever body part of hers he could grab first.

"Move it along then. Drive safely."

"Thanks, I will." Edward gave him a little wave and hit the button to close the window. He pulled on his coat, adjusted himself upright in his seat, and put his seat belt on before starting up the car, cranking the heat, and driving out of the parking lot.

A giggle fit erupted from the backseat in amusement.

Edward looked back at her in the rear view mirror and smiled at their situation. She continued to blush even after the giggling subsided, and he watched as she quietly adjusted her clothing.

"Come up here. You're too far away." He tossed her coat into the back seat. She put it on and placed her hand on his shoulder as she climbed over the seat when the car came to a stop at a red light.

"Oh _gawd_! Did that just really happen?" she laughed putting her fingertips to her forehead trying to hide her embarrassment.

"You tell me."

Bella continued to giggle as she pulled on her seat belt.

"It's late, and we're closer to my place. Is it okay if we just…" Edward looked at her knowing the red light in front of him meant a decision.

Left back to her place.

Right to his.

Bella thought about what awaited her at the condo. Angela's little get together could very well still be in full swing. _Thank goodness I locked my door,_ she thought.

"You can have the spare room if you want. I'll drive you home in the morning, whatever time you need to get back."

When she didn't answer, he turned to look back at the road, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. Edward was still anxious to talk to Bella about everything—the meadow, the dream, how sorry he felt that he wasn't there when she woke up in the hospital. Most of all, just like Emmett told him, she was the only one who could verify it was all real, and he needed to hear that from her.

"I'm not ready to let you go, but if you want me to take you home now, then I'll make the left here." Edward kept his eyes focused straight ahead on the light and the traffic crossing in front of them.

It was the longest light in the world, forever staying red, giving Bella too much time to think but not enough time to decide.

When the green circle finally appeared, Edward turned to look at her.

"Left or right, Bella?"

~x~

~x~

~x~

**A/n: Edward's always 'finding Bella' in the rain, isn't he? o.O**

Clear some space! NKubie needs to be doing a little dance. In a PM a few weeks ago she told me:

_ I keep thinking...If Edward goes back to the coffee shop and Alice gives him the cold shoulder, maybe she'll also clue him into what the girls think is going on with him and he can explain to her. *_You were so on the right track! :) good job, chickadee!

SassyKassie-yeah, so I'm not sure what all applies as being a 'Dawson's Moment' but something tells me I may have had one or more in this chapter.

And now Tonerlady has threatened I can't have any 'bobby ewing in the shower' moments... lol_ Pffft_...that was _so_ Harvard Can. . .Wait a minute. Not gonna say anything more. :p

I don't know if I ripped off that scene in the parking lot from a movie. Did anyone recognize it? I hope you liked it.

As always, thanks for reading!

Oh and... left or right?

**be goood! :)**

**kiTT**


	20. Domestication

**A/n: ****Kudos, thanks, and all kinds of 'we're not worthy' praise to the loverly TwiWeasel for contributing to this chapter substantially! She wrote a lot. Then I wrote some. Then we edited a bunch. Finally tweaked a little. Thanks to storywrtr for her once over, too! **

****Do you all remember how chptr titles in HCW were ages of B and E when they spent time together in the meadow: 5, 8, 12, 16 going on 17, 22...**

**Yes? Good. Now, let's find out just how much Bella remembers, shall we?**

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg own dialogue and characters. I reassign quotes. Listen for Edward saying a Jacob _Twilight_ line.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

**~xXx~**

Domestication

**~x~**

Prior to making a right at that traffic light, Bella, unable to shake the thought of the park ranger interrupting them, had continued to giggle intermittently, each time bringing a mischievous smile to Edward's face.

But once they agreed they were going back to Edward's house, the rest of the ride became unexpectedly quiet, with Bella silently reveling in getting her fun in, and Edward pondering how much she remembered and how long she had known. Neither really spoke, but they each caught the other looking out of the corners of their eyes. To make matters worse, the heavens decided to open up again, and the rain pounded on the roof and thumped against the windows of the car, making their silence a moot point, as they would have had a hard time talking over the angry noise of the rain and the rapid swishing of the hard-working wipers. As Edward pulled up into his driveway and turned off the car, he turned to Bella with a sigh.

"I think we're going to have to make a run for it." He smiled crookedly at her, grabbed his keys in one hand and grasped his door handle with the other. "Ready? Here we go!" He threw open his door and ran around the front of the car to Bella's side. She had barely managed to get the car door open by the time he was there, holding out his hand to her. She took it and shivered at its warmth, compared to the icy cold rain pouring down on them.

Refusing to let her go, Edward led her quickly up the walk to his front door. He fumbled a bit with his keys because he wouldn't release her hand, and Bella laughed breathlessly, telling him to hurry. By the time they fell through the door, both were soaked to the skin.

Tossing his keys on a table next to the door, Edward looked down at himself and then over at Bella's shivering form and dripping hair. "We seriously need some towels," he muttered then laughed, half disgusted by his muddy shoes, half incredulous by how wrecked they looked.

He shook off his coat, hanging it on a hook with the intent of helping to remove hers next, but when he turned back to her, she was already pulling her arm out of the second sleeve. She handed off her coat to him, and he hung it while he pointed toward a single chair for her to sit.

Edward toed off his wet and muddy sneakers and set them aside before dropping to his knees in front of Bella. "I'll help you take off your shoes and socks, and then we can go to the bathroom and dry off the rest of you. I don't want to get mud everywhere. And don't you think we've had enough mud to last us a lifetime?"

Bella quirked a brow and nodded, wrapping her arms around herself, before lifting one foot at a time so Edward could slip her shoes off and then her socks. She smiled at him, not knowing if his gesture should be interpreted in taking care of her or preventing his house from getting dirty.

After setting her shoes next to his, he tossed her socks in his dryer then took her hand and led her down the hall to the bathroom. Grabbing a couple of towels off a shelf in the bathroom, he handed them to her.

"If you'd like to take a shower to warm up, you can. I'm just going to go down to my room to dry off and change clothes. I'll bring you back something to wear in a few minutes. Just hand me your clothes through the door, and I'll throw your stuff in the dryer."

"Okay," Bella nodded as she rung out her dripping wet hair over the sink.

Stepping out of the room, Edward closed the door behind him, leaving Bella alone. With a sigh, she removed her shirt and jeans and hung them over the shower curtain rod. Unwilling to remove her undergarments just yet, despite the fact that they were cold and wet, Bella dried herself quickly, as best as she could, before wrapping one of the towels around her body. She was tucking the corner in above her chest just as Edward tapped on the door. She opened it with a blush and quickly handed off her wet clothes, noting that Edward kept his eyes averted as he held out the small bundle of dry clothes to her, to which she murmured a small "thank you."

Bella closed the door and returned to the vanity, inhaling the material deeply before placing the clothes on top of the closed toilet lid. As she picked up the second towel and rubbed it over her hair, she thought back to the car and was torn between wanting to continue where they had left off, and wanting to bury her face in her hands in sheer mortification. _What am I doing here if he's in love with someone else?_ she silently asked herself.

Setting the smaller towel aside, she began combing her fingers through her hair, crying out when they snagged on some that had gotten tangled in her new necklace. With a frustrated sigh, Bella leaned toward the mirror to see if she could get the knot undone, just as there was a knock at the door.

"Bella, are you alright? What's wrong?"

_Everything,_ thought Bella.

When she didn't answer him, he warned her, "I'm coming in, okay?" Edward's voice sounded worried through the door, and before Bella had a chance to register what was happening, the door opened and Edward had stepped into the bathroom, bare chested and wearing only a pair of dark grey flannel pajama pants.

"I...uh...was combing my hair...and...it's caught in my necklace and when I pulled it, I..." Bella trailed off, unable to look away from Edward's chest.

Seeing where her gaze rested, one side of his mouth lifted in a crooked smile. "Oh here, let me do that. Turn around." Bella did as he said, and Edward stepped behind her at the counter. Seeing the necklace up close, he expressed his surprise. "You wore it?"

"I...I like it. I was just trying it out," she admitted quietly as she picked the small towel back up and nervously squeezed it. She cocked her head to the side and pulled her long damp tendrils over her other shoulder so he could see her necklace. Hot fingers brushed against cool skin, causing her to gasp. He looked beyond her neck, and their eyes met in the mirror briefly, before he focused on his task.

"There you go," he said as he undid the clasp of her necklace, untangled the strands, and lightly blew along her neck, moving a few wisps out of his way before easily refastening the clasp. Taken with the smooth curve of her pale neck, he leisurely ran a long finger down along it, then back up, then down again, continuing toward her shoulder, until he reached her bra strap. He tugged on the smaller towel in her hand until she let it go. With the towel, he massaged some of the excess water from her hair and let it fall naturally down her back.

Looking to the mirror again, he slid her bra strap down and watched himself gently pat her shoulder dry. Taken by the sight of a small mole that was revealed at the very top of her bare back, he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to it. He lifted his eyes to her beautiful image in the mirror. Their reflected gazes met once again, and when she didn't straighten, Edward felt emboldened.

Maintaining eye contact with her reflection, his lips moved to graze the spot just below her ear, careful not to tickle her, and again at the curved juncture of her shoulder and neck as she allowed her head to tilt slightly further, giving him full exposure to that area. With a soft moan, her head jutted backward against him.

He watched her reflection as her hand slowly came up to tangle in his hair, effectively holding his mouth to that spot. The smaller towel was released, freeing his fingers to caress her skin.

Nipping lightly with his teeth, Edward ran his hands down from her shoulders and across her chest, loosening her towel and dropping it at their feet with an audible swish. He trailed his fingertips down her body to wrap around her waist. Bella leaned back into him, gasping as Edward sucked at a particularly sensitive spot just above her collarbone.

Glancing away from his reflection to her own, she saw her flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and the decision to see this thing through with Edward was ridiculously simple to make.

Neither was sure who initiated it, but Bella was suddenly turned in his arms and pressed against him, chest to breasts, his skin hot against hers. He crowded her against the vanity. Her eyes wide and her heartbeat rapid, she noticed his shoulder and trailed a finger along the obvious red mark left when she had bit down on him in the car.

"Sorry about that," she rasped as she wound her arms around his neck.

Already caught up, Edward never flinched in answering, "I'm not," as he ghosted his lips up along her neck, causing Bella to whimper. How easily those two words made her feel so desired by him. This man who stood before her with the perfect set of intense green eyes, damp coppery hair and broad exposed chest. This man who said all the right things, made her feel safe, worshiped and, above all else, _wanted_.

Slowly, his lips crept their way up her neck, until he was dragging his bottom lip over her chin and cheek, leaving a lingering trail of hot and wet, before settling his forehead against hers.

He swallowed harshly and pulled back; a pained look had spread across his face.

"Tell me everything between us was real, Bella," he spoke coarsely.

"It felt real to me, too," she agreed desperately.

Pulling his head down to hers, she breathed out, "kiss me" and their mouths were fused with a clash of teeth, hot breath, and searching tongues. His erection became prominent, and he pressed himself against her belly, before lifting her up onto the counter. Edward trailed hot fingers up and down the bare skin of her thigh, and Bella moaned at his touch, until he secured his hand around her and smoothly hitched her leg up around his hip.

This moved him so much closer, yet so far away, from where they both wanted to be.

A deep fire had been lit, coursing heat through her body that rose to the surface, warming her rain-cooled skin. A quiver surged through Bella, and she wrapped her other leg around his back, trying to close the space between them. Glancing up to see her face, Edward's smile grew at her expression of longing. Her desire for him was undeniable, the same as he'd remembered from the meadow.

With a hand splayed across her back, he gently forced her to let him hold the weight of her upper body, his fingertips pushing in slightly. Edward lavished her exposed chest with kisses, nuzzling her lace-covered nipples. With his free hand, he unclasped the front closure of her bra, fully baring her breasts to him. He worshiped her with his eyes, murmuring "real this time," before leaning down to devour every bit of exposed skin with teeth and tongue and lips.

"Ed-ward!" Hands fisted in his hair; Bella's voice cracked on the second syllable as he lightly bit down on a nipple. She tugged at his hair and he kissed his way back up her body till his lips were brushing hers—his mouth teasing her, his warm breath tempting her, his whole body aching for her.

Edward ghosted his lips across hers once again, and across her cheek to her ear. "My bed." His breath tickled her ear, and her leg contracted tightly against him in reaction to his words."Sheets," he smirked as he took time to swirl his tongue against her now pink, blush-filled skin.

He looked up into her eyes and, respectfully pleaded, "Let me take you to my bed." His lips captured hers in another deep, longing kiss — his fingers went back to rubbing the length of her thigh in long sensual strokes until she moaned out in pleasure again.

"Now," he whispered against her mouth, pulling back enough to see her eyes for an answer.

"Right now," she breathed, readily agreeing.

And with those two familiar words, consent was granted. Edward grasped Bella firmly under each thigh and lifted her up off the vanity's counter top, holding her taut against his body. She loved the feeling of being raised up by him and secured her arms around his neck. Her fingers threaded more and more through his hair and her elbows rested on his shoulders, as she kissed him continuously while he carried her to his bedroom. He stopped just at the foot of his bed, not ready to let her go, not yet needing to let her go, enjoying sharing himself with her. As much as she wanted from him, he was willing to give her. Bella heard music playing at a soft volume, letting her know they had entered his room. She opened her eyes in the softly lit room, and when she met his gaze, the look in his eyes told her Edward Cullen was definitively hers in this moment. Their bond rekindled, he held onto her tightly, lost to her, as they continued their passionate exchange at a steady pace.

When she pulled away, needing to catch her breath, he gently laid her down on his bed.

Uncomfortable from the open bra, she tugged it off completely, while he made quick work of removing his pants. He leaned over her and she welcomed the familiar weight of his body against hers. Beginning at her mouth, Edward kissed, licked, and nipped at every bit of exposed skin, until he reached the one part of her that was still covered. Barely brushing his mouth against the silkiness of her panties, he gently hooked his fingers around the top and pulled them down. Bella curved her body up only slightly to help as Edward slid her panties off, dropping them over the side of the bed.

Raising himself up so he could see, his breath caught as he looked at her and softly spoke, "See? Beautiful. You were never broken."

Blushing at his words, she threw an arm across her face to cover her cheeks. Her other hand moved toward her belly.

"No, don't." Edward reached for her hands. "Don't deny me this," he said as their fingers intertwined and he moved to hold their conjoined hands against the pillow that cradled Bella's head. "You're stunning and I want to see and feel all of you."

He kissed her gently on her forehead, as memories sought to remind him of their various stages within the meadow.

"I want to make up for all that lost time. From here," he inhaled her as he softly murmured to himself, "_five_."

He moved down to her breasts, barely voicing, "_eight_," before placing a kiss between them.

"To here..."

His hands released from hers, as he inched down further to her stomach, his fingertips trailing the soft curves about her waist.

"And right here," he kissed her belly button, eliciting a gasp from Bella, drowning out his murmured, "_twelve_."

He pulled himself back, kneeling, and placed his hand below her leg, bending it upward to kiss the sensitive skin at her inner knee.

"Here…." He didn't know if he said _sixteen_ aloud or not. If so, it was inaudible, as she writhed and quivered in response to his touch. He glanced up at her, smug and smiling at how obviously affected she was.

"Definitely here." He left one long sinfully tempting kiss along the supple skin surrounding her entrance.

Bella allowed him to look, to feel, to taste...until she thought she couldn't take it anymore. She grasped tightly onto the pillow surrounding her head, crying out his name, letting him know just how amazing the sensations from that last "kiss" felt as it traveled all the way through her.

In a fierce and sudden move, he flashed back up her body till they were face to face, bare skin to bare skin, intimately touching. Her hands wound tightly around him, her fingertips repeating short strokes along the muscles of his back.

His mouth hovered over hers while his hand came up to caress her cheek, and through a cloudy mind and heated ears, she _mistakenly_ heard him say to her, "I've wanted you forever, Bella."

His eyes burned into hers, baring all of his fears of losing her and desires of reclaiming her in his life.

Gazing up at him, she surrendered in a whisper, "Then have me."

His mouth smiled as he took hers in a gentle kiss, and he entered her with a soft moan. She pressed up against him, pulling him in deeper. He thrust, gently at first, before gaining momentum. Raising up, meeting him thrust for thrust, Bella clenched and moaned as she yearned to answer all that his body asked of hers. Digging her nails into his back and lifting her hips even higher, Heaven was right..._there_. Balancing on the precipice for a moment, she groaned his name before letting go completely and soaring. Edward joined her shortly thereafter, and time stood still, as their happiest shared moment in the meadow was recaptured.

~XOXO~

* * *

A/n:

Who was worried she'd say left? Didn't I say a few chapters back that Bella would make the **right** decision when it really counts?

soft, personalized, and sweet, with him on top, that's our little lemon drop.

As Edward was trying to make up for lost time with the ages-five, eight, twelve...what do you think he actually said instead of what Bella mistakenly heard him say?

**be good,**

**kiTT :)**


	21. Guest Accommodations

**A/n: We have A LOT of story still left to tell, and we are excited to inform you that we've brought on a new member to #TeamHCWnl. Originalward may be bulletproof, but we are not, so for our safety and protection, we've hired on Bodyguard Dean. We don't know his last name. He says everything is on a need-to-know basis. At this point, all we need to know is that he apparently will take a bullet for us and protect both TwiWeasel and myself at all costs going forward.**

**Whew, I feel safer already. You, TwiWeasel? Oh sh*t, he's gonna address us.**

**"Hello, I'm Dean. I've read the story, and realize we've got some serious business here. You two will need to put on these bulletproof vests, while I ask you readers to stay behind the guardrail and fasten your seat belts. Follow my instructions and I _will_ bring all of you through this safely."**

Disclaimer: All recognizable quotes belong to Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Guest Accommodations**

~x~

Bella woke up clutching a sheet just under her chin, opening one eye at a time, remembering where she was. She peered over to see Edward was planted face down in the pillows to her right, strands of his bronze hair upon his bare neck. They were sharing a blanket that only came about halfway up his back. As she examined the mole he had behind his ear, she suddenly felt her hand brush against his hip under the blanket and realized he was naked.

_Holy Shit!_ She was still naked too!

She slithered out of bed, careful not to cause any sudden movements, though lightly tugging the sheet along with her to wrap up in. She felt woozy on her feet, like her body was swimming while she stood. Her head was definitely swimming. How much more dimwitted was she going to be in her life? She took in a deep breath and recovered her legs before reaching to snatch up her purse that was on the nightstand, then headed down the hall toward the bathroom. After she used the toilet and washed her hands, she wrapped back up in the sheet and hunted through his vanity drawers for an extra toothbrush. Two empty drawers and one drawer with a shaving kit and deodorant. _Shit!_ _Why do boys only buy one toothbrush at a time?_ She squeezed some toothpaste onto her finger and did the best she could to clean her tongue and teeth.

Despite the toothpaste's mint, his bathroom overwhelmingly smelled like him.

She peeked into his shower and saw a white bar of soap, picking it up and bringing it to her nose. _That's him,_ she breathed. There was one bottle of combined shampoo and conditioner. _That's it? One step to that perfect mane?_ She brought the bottle to her nose. _Mmmm._ She automatically closed her eyes, tingles streaming down her body. It was more of him.

And there were her bra and panties, hanging over the shower bar. _How did they get there? _Bella thought for a moment. _Oh right! He had brought them in while I was in the shower...after we_ _had..._ [She smiled]..._ telling me that he had run out to his car and retrieved my forgotten purse that I couldn't find and brought it to his room for me, so I could get whatever it was I needed from it...my pill._

She snatched them up, her eyes catching a glimpse of the row of pretty decorative tiles that ran a border around the shower stall about a quarter of the way down from the top. The tiles were taupe in color with off white raised scroll impressions but in a modern design and —_Oh! _

Bella gasped as a flash ran through her mind—Hot water streaming down her body. The water stream interrupted when he stepped in without invitation. "Is this okay?" he had asked, and she answered by handing him the soap, sliding her long hair over the front of her shoulder, and showing him her bare back. _Ahhhh!_ Surrounded by steam. Suds. The sweet smell of him, his soap rubbed on his hands as he washed her back with long massaging strokes. "I would have taken you in the leaves in the park if I could," he was speaking at her ear. His hands sliding down over her buttocks then swirling a soapy trail up around the front of her to cup her breasts. Her lifted chin turning back toward him. Edward kissing her mouth. _Gahhh!_ His hands roaming her body, touching her. His hands reaching. . . everywhere. Her fingertips resting upon those pretty decorative tiles. Her form leaning forward. Her fingers pressed up against said taupe-colored decorative tiles. Moans. His arm outstretched above her eye's level. His hand having roughly moved to cover hers, their fingers entwined…right up against those wet, decorative tiles. Echoing groans. Her fingernails as they tried to dig into the grooves between the hard decorative tiles.

With a snap, Bella closed the shower curtain quickly on the scene of the crime, pressing her eyes closed, and tightening her grip on the sheet wrapped around her.

_Shit! Shit! Shit! _

_I did all that__? With him? In there? _

_How could I have been so stupid?_

She tucked her bra and panties into her purse, as lingering regrets of her first time with Jasper flooded her mind — how he broke things off with her the day after her birthday. He had gotten what he wanted and then moved on with Lauren, a girl who had recently broken up with Jasper's teammate. Rumor was that Jasper had always liked and wanted Lauren.

_And that's what Edward will do to me, too. __I need to g__et out of here__,_ she thought. She pulled out her phone from her purse and called a cab before tiptoeing down the hall to find her clothes. She vaguely remembered he was putting them in the dryer for her. She made her way to the front of his house and opened the dryer, pulling out her clothes and dressing quickly - thankful for closed blinds - and tossed the sheet inside the washer.

Her shoes felt squishy and spongy as she slid her feet into them, still wet from last night. She pulled her coat on, and as she approached the door, she wondered if she should leave him a note on his refrigerator. And say what exactly?

**Dear Top Belt Wearer,**

**Congratulations!**

**You got what you wanted.**

**-Signed, **

**Another (and your most recent) Notch**

"Please let this cab get here before he wakes up and before I kill myself with my own sarcasm," Bella whispered to herself as she peeked down the hall.

Her throat was dry, and her lips felt swollen. _Maybe I could just grab a glass of water or a chilled bottle out of his kitchen._ As she turned to make her way over to the frig, she decided to first take a glance out of the window to see if the cab had arrived. Something green and shiny, sitting on the windowsill, caught her eye. As she approached, she realized it was a green beer bottle, its contents hidden by the closed blinds. Raising the blinds slightly proved the bottle held a beautiful sunflower. _That's odd. _Bella was surprised because her sunflowers from their date had died, and she had already thrown the withered stems and petals away.

_Could his single flower have survived this long?_

Bella shook her head and told herself _no, _that the sunflower he had chosen from the barrel that day had been all too easily. . . _replaced_.

~x~

* * *

A/n: *sighs* Oh Bella. . .Edward really needs to wake up like RTFN, doesn't he?

Thanks for last chapter's reviews and for letting us have our fun!

If you wanna have some fun TONIGHT playing TwiFic trivia on twitter, you've got the advantage per this tweet:

**TwiFicTrivia 2013** Follow **Just4TFT**

It's game day. Our final Featured Favorite Fic for May is Harvard Can Wait by **tonguetwied** - clue wil be worth 2 pts

Pretty sure it starts at 9 pm EST

**good luck and be good!**

**kiTT :)**


	22. Waking Up

**A/n: I enjoyed reading your reactions to last chapter! So it seems, that just when Bella has some real solid victories of kicking Mike to the curb and getting it on with Edward, she allows her fears and insecurities to motivate sabotaging herself. Let's give her a chance to find some new motivating factors.  
**

**ICYMI: The trivia question asked was "What was the name of Edward's guitar?" Ale on twitter at Alesoflyy answered it correctly so good job to her! Would you have remembered it was Gia?**

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Pity.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Waking up**

~x~

Edward awoke in a blissful, yet paradoxical, state of morning wood fulfillment. His soul felt replenished and his body was satisfied from having spent the night with her. It was more than he could have expected. After all the uncertainty and doubt of yesterday, and after all the highs and lows of his past few weeks, last night meant everything to him. _She_ was everything to him.

_My Bella,_ he sighed and smirked to himself, until a wave of fear rolled through him tumultuously. What if it had all been a dream like the last time? What if he opened his eyes and she wasn't there?

With his eyes shut he whispered, "Bella?"

His entire body moved expecting to mold against her body.

"Bella?" he asked again with more urgency.

His eyelids, feeling sticky and heavy, fluttered slightly.

"Edward?"

He felt a warm hand touch his forehead.

"Edward, honey, it's Mom. Can you hear me?"

~x~

* * *

**A/n: **Well...he's awake... _That's what we all agreed needed to happen, right? That Edward needed to wake up? _

New theories?

**"Bodyguard Dean here, the girls have been moved to a secure location usually reserved for my more famous clientele. Next update ETA is less than 2 days away."**


	23. I Just Got You Back

**A/n: *chews popcorn* Oh shit did you see that? Dean just tackled 17foreverLisa to the ground. "Who else wants a piece of me?" Dean's yelling. **

Wanted to say thanks to FluffyLiz who chimed in very positively for "Harvard Can Wait" on a rec page that I stumbled across on the site twific dot net! Definitely check the site out for cool recs and summaries! It was a huge surprise to me to have HCW included there. :)

**"Dean here, I've got tons of backup ladies that I've brought in, all trained to my standards. I take this assignment very seriously and by the looks of this chapter...I just might need it." **

Disclaimer: Recognizable characters and dialogue compliments of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Rosenberg.

The title: yeah, it's a Charlie line from Twilight. Let's find out who actually says it in my world!

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**I Just Got You Back**

~x~

With a loud gasp, Edward's eyes shot open as he sat upright. His hand flew to his chest, trying to calm the heaving and his rapid heartbeat.

"It was just a dream, just a fucking dream," he told himself as he recognized his current room in the house he was renting while attending Harvard. The palms of his hands rubbed his eyes first, then scrubbed his face.

_Bella! _

He looked over to see an empty space next to him just as he heard the outside door closing. "Bella? _Bella!"_ he jumped up out of bed, heading toward his dresser to grab a pair of flannel pajama bottoms out of the bottom drawer. "Bella!" He just barely had them pulled up as he got to the door.

"Bella! Wait! Where are you going? I told you I'd drive you home," He called out to her at the sight of her at the bottom of his short driveway, just as she was getting into the cab's back seat.

Bella sucked in a breath of the crisp, chilled morning air and turned to look at Edward. "C'mon, Edward. We both know what went on here." Bella held the door in front of her like a shield, bracing the top of the door frame.

Edward took the two steps down to the landing. "Then why are you leaving?" he demanded.

"Because. . . because I shouldn't have come in the first place."

He half-heartedly muffled a laugh and, with a fist, patted his chest. "What about the second and third places?"

Bella rolled her eyes at him.

The wet gravel below his feet was hurting him as he took two more steps closer to her. "Bella, there's a lot we still need to talk about …I don't know how much you know about…"

"Oh, I know enough, Edward!"

"You do?" he asked brightly, placing a hand on his car as he continued a few steps down the driveway. "Then why are you..."

"Yeah, I do," she interrupted firmly. "And you wanna know what I know most? I know that I can't be your play thing while you're still so much in love with someone else."

"What?" Edward's face displayed his surprise and mild horror in reaction to her words. It was so cold out, and he just wanted her to come back in the house with him. He couldn't believe this was happening. "No, Bella, _that's_ what we need to talk about."

"Right," Bella laughed weakly, "then why didn't we_ talk_ about it last night?"

Edward stopped and stared at her bewildered. She'd told him the one thing he needed to hear from her, that it _had_ been real between them. He didn't need anyone else to believe him, as long as she did. He had tried to show her how much he cared for her, and _only_ her, last night. He tried to tell her as much as he could without words. Though, he was sure he _had_ told her that he's loved her forever.

Standing there waiting, Bella only heard his silence. "That's what I thought, Edward. Hey, at least this way you got what you wanted before having to confess to anything."

It felt like he had been punched in the gut, the wind knocked out of him. "C'mon Bella, don't go," he gulped, edging toward her slowly down the driveway, the small stones causing increased discomfort to his bare feet. "I just got you back."

"Goodbye, Edward. And would it kill you to buy an extra toothbrush to keep at your place?"

The cab driver had gotten impatient and stepped on the gas as soon as she slammed the door shut, just as Edward lunged toward the car. Bella turned away in the cab and quickly wiped at a tear that had dribbled from her eye. She reprimanded herself. She knew what Angela had overheard. She knew he'd be done with her after getting what he wanted.

How could she have let it get this far?

Oh that's right. It was simple, really. Edward said all those things.

"_Do you have any idea how much I want to be here with you?"_

"_Tell me it was all real, Bella__."_

"_I would have taken you in the leaves in the park if I could."_

It's not like she, or any other girl for that matter, would have been able to resist Edward. But his seduction had started from the first time he met her. It wasn't just last night, but all along, from joking if she had been in a bar fight that first day, to telling her how beautiful she was that afternoon in the park.

_My God, last night, in the park, he even went as far as to infer that he loved __me._

"_Not could, Bella. Does!__"_

The rush of those words catapulted through her mind and body. _Four words and I gave him a __freakin'__ all-access pass to my body. _Bella secured the shoulder strap of her seat belt and tightly wrapped her arm across herself, leaning her head onto the uncomfortable grey restraint. _He shows up at my place, I was vulnerable because of Mike, and Edward used it as his 'in' with me [so to speak], _she thought, dismissing herself for getting so worked up that she wanted to confront him. He never even answered her question or, if he did, she couldn't remember what he had said.

Bella pulled her phone out from her purse to find Alice has sent her three text messages last night.

**10:18 pm Where are you?**

**12:02 am Missed you at the coffee house tonight.**

**12:14 am Really need to talk to you.**

She was just about to check her voicemail to see what was going on with Alice when her phone rang. _T__hank God for caller ID._ She hit the button on her phone then immediately hung up on Edward. She neither wanted to talk to him nor listen to him ramble on her voicemail. After exiting the cab, she climbed the steps of the condo in what felt like a quick walk of shame, praying Angela was still asleep and the others gone. It was after 9 o'clock on a Sunday morning, and she wasn't willing to look anyone in the eye, just yet. Once getting through the door, it appeared Angela was out already with no real evidence of her party last night, other than a trash container full of empties and bowls drying by the sink.

Some of her muscles felt achy and sore. She wanted to just get under the massage feature of her shower head. As she disrobed in the bathroom and let the hot water beat down, the steam picked up his scent still on her skin, taunting her as it swirled in the air around her. She inhaled him with a yearning, but then quickly wanted to rid herself of the vulnerability she had had felt last night. After showering and snuggling up in her robe, Bella made herself a cup of tea and toast before locking herself away in her room.

She saw that Edward called again while she was in the shower. She sent a quick text to Alice saying that she would call her later, before shutting off her phone and breaking down, sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow.

~x~

* * *

A/n:

*lets dust settle*

Oh geez... Bella is a mess. _Something_ must have spooked her...

**Your reviews = priceless and enjoyable! Thank you!**

After this chapter are you wishing he HAD been dreaming? lol That would have been an interesting twist, right? To have him been dreaming again and wake up in the hospital AFTER the morphine OD with Bella sitting there next to Esme? That is why I included the last chapter. Not really to be evil (**NKubie** LOL) but to plant that scenario as an alternate possibility because I really like the thought of it! When it came down to writing a sequel there were so, so many possibilities...

We have confirmation that what Edward had indeed said to Bella in the bedroom was, "I've loved you forever." Thanks and congrats to **Helenemc**-she's been in on this story from the beginning and was the first to get it right in the reviews! :-)

TwiWeasel-when this is over, I'll miss ploTTing with you like I 'miss' the rains down in Africa. TY!

**have a good weekend!**

**kiTT :)**


	24. At presentCont'd,6

**A/n: So...Pride & Prejudice. Remember in the movie, Mr. Darcy stood there and bared his soul to Elizabeth and in return she yelled back at him...and then...**

Thanks to TwiWeasel for her beta style and continuing to work hard on this story with me!

Disclaimer: Only one sort of quote in this one. I don't own Twilight.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At present**

~x~

**Cont'd...**

"That morning…Bella, after you left me just standing there…I tried coming after you. I got dressed but just before I left the house, I couldn't find my wallet. I was already half crazed not knowing what you were thinking. Just wasn't in the best frame of mind to be driving. And I was scared shitless."

"Scared?" She seemed surprised. "Why?"

"You're serious?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "I was afraid of losing you. You just walked out on me! I didn't know what I'd done. Or if we'd done too much. If you were going back to Mike..."

"It was over with him!"

"But it's not like you stuck around long enough to tell me!" Edward cleared his throat in an effort to keep himself from getting too worked up. "I thought you were going to pack up and leave, just disappear on me. Then, not being able to find my wallet put me right over the edge. I panicked."

"It's okay. I get it. If you had gotten the chance, you would have said or done anything." Bella added quietly.

"Bella, you have to know that night meant everything to me…" He took her face in against his hands roughly and reiterated, "_Everything!_ I hadn't planned on letting it get that far that night. I just wanted to be with you, in whatever way. Every day away from you was. . .Ugh!. . . Knowing what I knew? Even if it had only been that night…if we had only gotten that one night…" He trailed off, allowing his hands to move down to cover both of hers, before continuing, "Bella, how could I have known we'd end up here again? Like this?"

A single tear streamed down Bella's cheek. Edward instinctively circled his thumb over her wind-chapped, reddened skin, absorbing the tear.

Bella watched a single leaf fall from way up high. Its fall to the ground was a bit of a journey to meet its final resting place. It swirled to and fro, getting caught in a branch for a short time before the wind caught the orange leaf once more, and blew it out away from the tree, pushing and pulling, until it finally landed among the fallen of its kind - all of its individual seconds from its journey gone.

If leaves were alive, would they look forward to that last bit of life? A chance to fly, to leave the nest and make a trek?

His hand gripped hers tightly, squeezing, and she flinched at the pain the pressure that metal band on his finger exuded on her.

"You're hurting me," she whimpered.

"What? How?"

"With _that." _Bella threw a glance to his hands.

Edward looked down at his left hand._ Shit! _He released her quickly apologizing, "Sorry...I'm sorry, Bella!"

~x~

* * *

A/n: I've got an Eclipse Jacob line for you. "I have nothing to say."

But if you have tons to say, then I'll look forward to your comments!

**be good!**

**kiTT :)**


	25. Eddie

**A/n: ...and then Elizabeth had a lot of inner turmoil to deal with.****  
**

**TY to TwiWeasel! **

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I'm going to give a nod to Bill Condon and his BD 1 morning-after scene in this chapter.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Eddie**

~x~

Angry at herself, Bella erupted from a sudden burst of energy, jumping out of her bed to go stand in front of the mirror that hung behind her door. She began swearing _him_ off forever.

_He'll go back to the girl he's been in love with all of his life...Well you do that, Bastardward! __Or maybe now he'll move on to the next girl! Giggoloward! __Just as long as he stays the hell away from me! Assholeward!_

But as Bella pinched the top of her robe closed, she spied in the mirror a small pinkish mark just above her right collarbone, reminding her of a moment from last night. It was the moment he had stood behind her and kissed her from her neck down, sliding her bra strap to the side as he moved his mouth across her shoulder. She gasped slightly, bringing two fingers to her lips, sinking into a trance as her body and mind remembered all of the parts of her he had taken time to cover with kisses and caresses from her face down to her breasts when she stood in front of his mirror. She had marked him in the car, and he had marked her in return-almost like the young lovers who carved their initials into that tree in the park.

The emotion overtook her again as she cried. _Why couldn't she be_ _her__? _She wanted it to be _her_—the girl he's in love with _now more than ever_. As if that were even possible, considering they only met here at Harvard. She knew she was stupid for thinking so, but that's how he made her feel last night. That was how passionate the connection felt, stronger than with Mike, stronger than she thought she could feel with any guy. When he kissed her in the rain like that, it was like everything else washed away except for the two of them, like nothing else mattered. She wished _she_ could have more of that with him, but the dark skies and rain were only going to be able to mask the reality for one night.

Maybe the voice in her dream had been wrong.

Bella's head started to throb. She knew she needed to escape this for a while, so she slipped into the bathroom and popped two Tylenol PM before curling under her blankets and drifting off into a deep, dream-filled sleep.

_~dreaming~_

Bella could feel her leg was broken. There was so much shooting pain with each tiny movement she tried to make. She looked up into the light and beheld the monumental site before her. It was an immeasurable amount of steps she'd need to take to get herself there, but her body just wasn't going to let her. Bella was too weak and didn't have the upper body strength to drag herself any distance. In her heart, she knew she wanted to make it there, but with no power over her body, and her willpower gone, she gave up. She sunk more deeply into the thick, wet mud of despair.

When she dreamt again, she was a child, carefree and running through a field of flowers with a blond-haired boy.

_~dreaming~_

"Hi, I'm Eddie, what's your name?" asked the little boy with the big smile on his face.

"Bella," she giggled. "And I know your name." She saw a teenager walking away in the distance.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I came to find you. Don't you remember me?"

"I sure don't, but you sure are pretty!"

Bella blushed. "Who is he? And where's he going?"

"That's my buddy, Alec. We were playing baseball together. He said he can't stay any longer, but you and I can play."

"I don't really like to play baseball."

"Awe, why you gotta be such a girl?" Eddie whined.

"Eddie!" the teenage boy turned around and chided. "Play nice, now!"

"Alright, we don't have to play baseball. We can play something else."

Bella looked around but could no longer see Eddie's friend.

"You're it!" The boy yelled as he touched Bella on the arm and took off running, swirling colors of lavender and butter yellow around him. They played tag and chased the various lovely butterflies together.

"One, two…" the little boy said before Bella yelled, "Go!" They rolled down a hill, laughing all the way and when they were done, they climbed up into a tree house Eddie proudly boasted he had helped to build with his dad.

"I want to stay here forever," she sighed happily.

"If you're here forever, then I want to stay here too," the little boy beamed.

The two pretended they were pirates in a ship, carved their initials into the wall with sticks, and played jacks until there was a pounding on the tree house door.

****KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK****

"**Bella?"**

The kids were scared. They moved to cower in the corner, clinging to each other. "Go away!" Eddie shouted. "She's staying here with me! _Forever!_"

"Bella! Are you in there?"

Bella was startled awake.

****KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK****

"Bella! It's me, Angela! Bella, please open the door!"

"Huh? I'm yeah, Ang, just a minute." Groggy from suddenly being pulled out of a dream, she stood up and snatched her robe closed before answering the door.

"Sorry Angela, I was asleep," she rubbed at her not-quite-awake eyes. "What time is it?" she yawned.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, um, I took something to help me sleep," Bella admitted wondering what the big deal was.

Bella turned away and reached for her phone, turning it on to see what time it was. 4:30 pm _Oh shit! It's that late? _She scrolled through her call log. Two calls from Alice last night and one this morning. Nine calls from _him _this morning. Two more calls from Alice this afternoon. Four calls from Angela. One last call from Alice ten minutes ago.

Angela glanced around her room. "So your phone isn't lost this time? It works? I've been calling you."

"Um, no. I had shut it off. I didn't really want to talk to anyone." Bella wanted to say more to her, but by the way Angela was shaking her keys in her hand, she could tell she had her own agenda.

"Well just peachy," Angela replied. "Now that I know you're okay, get dressed. We need to go."

"Oh Ang, I'm sorry, but I'm just not feeling up to going out today. I think I had the best and worst night of my life last night and I'm …ugh…just too agitated with myself. I know I won't be any fun."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah we can get to that later, but for right now, I have a cab waiting so I need you to go get dressed and come with me."

"Go with you where?"

"To the hospital."

~x~

* * *

A/n:

*deep calming breaths*

*in*

*out*

*in*

*out*

Now do we all see where this is heading?

...

**"Dean, here. Handling the situation. Like a boss, because I realized, I don't need bullet proof vests or safehouses to protect these ladies. I have the ultimate secret weapon at my disposal. A distraction, really. Come on out, Rob."**

_**"I'm here Harvard ladies in waiting, who needs me to hold them?" -Rob**_


	26. At presentCont'd,7

**A/n: Your theories are marvelous to read! Thank you for the reviews and new follows/favs! Use of Twi-movie quotes in your reviews are always appreciated. Twilight is what brought us here, right? And we can't regret that decision now can we? :)**

**TwiWeasel-you rock!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At present**

~x~

**Cont'd...**

"How much more time do you think we have?" Edward asked Bella quietly.

"I'm not sure. And like you've always told me, time moves differently here," she replied, nudging her head on his shoulder until he got the hint and lifted his arm, draping it around her.

"Yeah, it does. It feels like it's getting colder," he stated, casually looking at their surroundings before looking down at her. "Do you feel it?"

"Not really, only when there's a breeze. You're keeping me warm." She smiled up at him.

With that, a gust of wind blew by, picking up several leaves and whizzing them through the air, scattering them to various places around them. _Maybe __the journe__y__ isn't over, _Bella thought. Maybe they like having a chance to move about and be free once they are no longer attached to the tree. Autumn leaves, that have detached and land about, work to paint the ground as if cans of red, yellow, and orange paint were splattered against a large canvas, giving them a new purpose and place, just from a different perspective.

~x~

* * *

A/n:

Question

We all know what Edward was willing to do to save Bella in HCW. Would Bella be willing to do the same for him?


	27. While You Were Sleeping

**A/n: Thanks to all of you for continuing on. Love reading all your theories or just general comments to let me know you are reading, even if you are confused. I know this is not straightforward, but it's the way I needed to write it. Just like in HCW, the details are building and being revealed little by little. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. And I don't know what got me so caught up in it-Rob or Edward. Or was it the perfect storm of both?

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**While You Were Sleeping**

~x~

"How bad?" Bella whispered during the cab ride. When Angela didn't answer right away, Bella repeated herself in a more demanding manner, more loudly.

"Bad enough. He asked for you, you know. Not that any of us knew where you were at since you haven't answered the damn phone all day…"

_How was I supposed to know something like this would happen? _Bella asked herself.

"I know. I never do that, but after I got home this morning, I just…It doesn't matter now."

"And meanwhile, while you were sleeping, some asshole was too busy texting instead of paying attention to the road."

The cab dropped them off at the hospital's ER entrance, where Bella followed Angela through the ER, beyond the curtained areas to a special section of rooms in the back, all with typical sterile beige-colored doors and each with a small rectangular window.

An uncontrollable shiver of fear shot through Bella in anticipation of what she came there to see. Her stomach turned in reaction to that smell. Why did hospitals all smell the same?

Angela took Bella's hands in an effort to prepare her for what she was about to see. "Listen, before you go in there, I need to prepare you for something." Bella listened to Angela intently, then swallowed a gulp of dry, stale hospital air down, trying to repress any other bad feelings she had experienced earlier that morning.

She slowly peeked through the window.

"Edward." His name stuck in her throat.

There was something so familiar to the scene before her. Almost eerily, a feeling of deja-vu emerged—those simultaneous feelings and thoughts. That voice. Words she thought she could hear being spoken just to her.

She composed herself with a physical shaking out of her arms and then slipped quietly into the room.

It smelled, sounded, and looked just the way her room had—pastel-toned walls with outdated floral artwork. Machines and an IV drip. One mauve chair by the beige-colored mechanical bed. A white cotton blanket tucked in at the bottom of the bed, lay neat and undisturbed. A bandaged head with pieces of hair sticking out haphazardly above and below the white gauze.

~x~

* * *

A/n:

Follow up question:

Edward was determined to save Bella by undergoing the morphine OD and he was strong enough to save BOTH Bella and himself.

Would Bella be strong enough to do the same?

**The next chapter is going to be emotional. The TwiWeasel and I are really looking forward to it!**

**I plan on posting it Friday evening with a glass of wine! :****)**

**be good!**

**kiTT**


	28. When Fate Changes Course

**A/n: Friday evening-ish. **

**Wine and tissues optional. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Recognizable characters/quotes in this chapter. And that one scene from Eclipse that takes it a step further.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait**

no longer...

~xXx~

**When Fate Changes Course**

~x~

_C'mon feet, move. _

Those feelings of guilt that always lingered from her own accident were stirring within her, rising up to the surface, and crippling Bella.

The beeps tarnished the quiet, but then again, she felt like she had followed the sound of the beeps when she was coming to in the hospital. She could hear them getting louder and louder just before she had opened her eyes.

_Stay calm._

She went over Angela's words in her mind. _"I don't know what went on last night, but can you put it aside? Just put it in a drawer and then close it. Can you do that? If not, don't even bother going in that room right now." _

_Did I even deserve to be admitted into this room? _

Bella knew she wasn't family.

_Is this even allowed?_

_Okay, now I'm making up excuses. _

_Screw the rules! __If _he's_ here, then I'm going to be here, too, _she told herself.

Bella approached the end of the bed slowly, each one of her small steps filled with disbelief that this could have happened - that it _had _happened.

Her mouth opened but struggled to make a sound.

She tried to find her voice, first by clearing her throat.

Quietly, strained, and full of anguish, the words finally came to her.

"How is she?"

She heard his deep intake and release of air before her question was answered.

"Not good."

He had sensed it was her in the room when he heard the door open and close, but he had purposely not looked back at her until now. When Edward turned back to answer her question, Bella saw his eyes were dark and apologetic. He looked like hell with two days' worth of scruff.

As she entered, she had seen him talking to her, though Alice was clearly unresponsive. "What were you telling her just now?"

"Uh…" Edward paused. He had been apologizing to Alice, that he wasn't willing to risk losing his life or jeopardizing the future he wanted to share with Bella to try to save her, even though he felt like he owed Alice. If that little spitfire hadn't called him out at the coffee house, then he doubted he would have spent even one minute of last night with Bella. "I was telling her that she is strong enough to find a way back, like you did."

"Oh. . .where are her parents?"

"Felix took them down to sign some paperwork." Edward stood up and positioned the chair slightly, holding it out for her.

_Felix?_

"I'll let you be alone with her," he told her.

As she approached him, she was taken aback when she saw the puffiness around his glassy eyes, genuine concern for the situation.

"Thanks," she managed lowly.

He nodded and, though it killed him to do it, was careful to give her space as he walked past her to the door, keeping his head down. Bella kept her eyes averted from him, too, and waited until he left the room before sitting on the chair.

"Alice, it's me, Bella. Oh Alice, how did this happen? I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, but I was having trouble…with a boy. If you wake up, I promise to tell you all about it."

Bella waited for a response but all she heard were the sounds of ticks and beeps in unison as the machines hooked up to Alice did their work. She looked at her pale lips around the tube and remembered the feel of waking up with a tube down her own throat, feeling the need to get it out. "Alice, please wake up." She tugged at pieces of Alice's hair. "You'd just hate how flat your spiky little pieces of hair look right now. You need to wake up and fix yourself up. I've never seen you with this little makeup on, and I live next door to you! Can't you hear me, Alice?"

Bella surprisingly kept the tears at bay. Maybe she was just all cried out from the morning. Maybe she was taking cues from the calm façade Angela maintained. Maybe she didn't realize the severity of Alice's accident. "Come on Alice, I need you to wake up. We all need you to wake up. You welcomed Angela and I in and showed us the area, introduced us to other students and your family. You've got plans you know."

Bella said a prayer over Alice, asking for divine help to get her to where she needed to be. Angela entered the room softly, coming to stand next to Bella, leaning her head on Bella's shoulder. "She's going to be okay, right?" Bella pleaded, but Angela couldn't give an answer.

"Come on, her family is back. We should really step out so they can be with her."

Bella reached her hand out to touch Alice on the cheek. "We'll be here, Alice, when you wake up. Wake up soon."

Edward had waited out in the hallway for Bella, making brief small talk with Alice's parents. She greeted Alice's parents, whom she had met only twice, and was surprised to see Felix, rather than Riley, with them.

"We need to go to the waiting area down the hall." Edward was repeating the urging of the nurse who had already asked him twice to keep the hallway clear, but he was waiting for her.

He put his hand out for her to walk down the hall with an 'after-you' gesture. Bella walked ahead of him, until she felt pressure on her forearm, as Edward was suddenly yanking on her, guiding her into a small cutout in the wall that housed a water fountain and the entrance to a restroom.

Caught completely off guard, Bella gasped at the sudden movement, breathing quick shallow breaths. He heard every breath she took as he backed her against the wall.

Firmly his eyes held her gaze, while he held her arm loosely pinned behind her back and pulled her chest up against his. She tried to lean back away from his face. He took a step closer, jutting his leg right up against hers firmly.

With a concerned tone and dark, scowling eyes, he fumed, "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I've been about you?" Rapid flickers of his eyes stunned Bella, and he decided against waiting on an answer from her. He opted, instead, to impart his worry onto her as he leaned in and sealed his lips to hers, pressing into her mouth roughly, ever so tightly, for a brief moment, expressing both his anger and relief. As he felt her mouth give in and kiss him back, his hand released her arm and slid down to intertwine their fingers. He relaxed his arm across the small of her back and continued to kiss her, but at a much slower pace. Satisfied with his actions, he pulled away, releasing her completely, and strutted down the hallway to catch up with the others.

Having missed what happened, but realizing Bella wasn't walking beside them, Felix turned around and called back as he looked for her. "Bella?"

Bella licked the taste of Blistex off her lips before sticking her head out of the cutout to be in their line of vision. "Yeah, just getting a drink of water." She turned back and simultaneously pushed the grey button in and hovered her lips over the water spurting out.

"Edward, can I talk to you for a second?" Bella called out meekly after taking only one step away from the fountain. Felix and Angela both looked to him, stopping slightly. He stopped too, and with a shrug toward them, turned back, approaching her slowly. He leaned himself against the corner of the alcove and stuck his hands in his pockets this time, so as not to let her think he would grab her again. [He'd only done that to get her attention because he was so frustrated with how she left things between them. He was pretty sure he didn't hurt her physically, though possibly scared her slightly.]

"What?" he asked harshly, still annoyed with her for leaving him this morning and not taking his calls.

Bella had a surprise for him.

She soaked her hand under the fountain's cold water and with a flick of her fingers, splattered the cold water in his face, leaving him standing there as she brushed past him with a "huh" to catch up to Felix and Angela.

Edward wiped his face with his hand. His annoyance dissipated. Lightheartedly, he smiled at the small glimpse he got of the playful Bella he knew. He strolled down the hall to catch up with the others and announced, "I showered last night, Bella. Thanks for the reminder." He gave Bella a wink.

Felix and Angela shot each other a quizzical look over Edward's comment while Bella refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging it. She waited for Edward to sit down in the waiting room before seating herself across from him, giving Felix a half-hearted smile and tugging on his sleeve to sit next to her.

Felix's leg jiggled up and down in a steady, nerve-racking rhythm. "I should have been the one driving her around today," he said through gritted teeth, "but I worked last night and told her she could take my car for the day. She wanted to go shopping and, I don't know, I guess she had some other errands." Bella reached out to rest her hand on Felix's knee, rubbing it slightly before pulling it back to rest her chin into it.

Angela sat by Edward, and Bella had tried her best not to look at him-until he spoke on behalf of them to her, that is.

"We were worried when we couldn't get in touch with you," Edward directed at Bella, his eyes struggling to meet hers from across the aisle.

Bella pulled her chin out of her cupped hand and shot a glacial look at Edward. "Well Edward," she started a bit too facetiously, "I guess I kind of had a rough morning."

"Must have been some night," Edward deadpanned in response to her tone. Their eyes met finally, capturing and holding each others'—hers frigid and his searching—until he threw in a quick, "Huh?" in questioning and glanced down at his watch.

Bella glared back at him. Was he really going to do this here? Now? Wasn't that stunt out there inappropriate enough considering the circumstances?

Bella tried to keep her cool and thought she'd engage him, calmly asking, "Why are you here?"

"Who me ...you're speaking to..." Edward held his wrist up in front of him. "Eight hours later?"

"Edward was the first person the hospital called," Felix spoke up on Edward's behalf.

"I guess I left my wallet at the coffee house last night so we think Alice picked it up to return to me. They found it in her purse when they brought her in, and the hospital personnel thought I was a contact."

Bella didn't seem affected in the least by what he said and instead picked up a magazine, aimlessly flipping through it.

He crossed his arms and continued, "Once I got here, I called Felix and Angela from Alice's phone. I tried calling you from it too, but I guess you weren't taking phone calls from _anyone _today."

Bella didn't bother to look up from her magazine. "No. For your information, I was left so appalled by my morning that I shut my phone off and conked out in bed until Angela showed up pounding on my door. I still haven't turned the thing back on," she lied. "I don't think I even brought it with me."

"Too bad." He was growing increasingly annoyed with her attitude and wanted her to look at him again. "I guess you have no idea what else you missed out on today—_probably_ someone calling to make sure you made it home okay after your _rough_ morning, _probably_ someone calling with an explanation."

"Well, looks like I got the most important message of the day being that I'm here and all. I doubt I'll even need to hear the rest. I'll probably just save myself the trouble and delete them."

That was it! That was the last straw - broken by her intentional belligerence - and Edward's last nerve trampled all over. "You're so stubborn!" He jumped up. "Why would you do that?" He glared back at her.

While Angela stared at the television set, intentionally trying to stay out of the scene, Felix felt like he was watching an emotional tennis match. Frustrated, he scolded, "Dude, keep it down. What's going on between you two?"

Edward sat back down and crossed his arms across his chest. "Nothing."

Bella placed the magazine down on the table in front of her and crossed her arms across her chest. "Nothing."

"Well all this nothing shit is getting on my nerves. I need to take a walk. Angela, do you want to come with me to get a cup of coffee?"

"Absolutely," she said with too much eagerness. And with that, the two of them headed out of the waiting room, but not before Felix got one final word in to them.

"Sort your _nothing_ shit out and remember why we're here," Felix warned.

Ten minutes of uncomfortable silence passed between them. Edward, whose temper had flared in reaction to Bella's words, settled down. Bella experienced increased discomfort but suffered in silence, chewing on the flesh inside her mouth just where her cheek and lips met, as she rested her head back into her palm.

Edward stood up, crossed the aisle and took Felix's seat next to Bella. He watched as the only other two remaining people in the waiting area exited. He leaned way forward in his seat, tapping his fingertips together, before quietly speaking to her. "I'm glad you're okay."

Bella lifted her forehead out of her hand and looked at him bewildered. "Do I look okay? My best friend is lying unconscious in a hospital bed."

"That's_ not _what I meant," Edward fired back immediately before sucking in a deep calming breath. "I meant …what I said back there….that I was really worried about you today, first when you left and then when no one could get in touch with you."

Bella didn't have an answer for him. She sat looking straight ahead.

"Did you really not listen to my messages?" he asked softly, his hand rubbing circles over his eyes as he yawned.

"No," she replied. He released his face and tried to sort out if she was telling him the truth.

"Not any of them?"

"No."

Their eyes squared off, and they both started to talk over each other, essentially saying the same thing.

"I don't want to do this here," she said just as he told her, "We can't do this to each other now."

They each looked away, sitting quietly again before Edward tried to get through to her, to comfort her. "It's me here, Bella. I know how tough it must be on you to see her in there, after what you went through. And I thought last night answered a lot of questions for me, but maybe it didn't for you. So for now, maybe, can we just go back to being the Edward and Bella that rode to therapy together until we get through this? I _want _to be here to help you through this. The last thing I want here is for you to shut me out again."

Bella nodded her head, conceding that was the easiest thing to do, even though it sounded selfish of her. Still, he was _offering_ to support her, not the other way around. She turned inward toward him and leaned her cheek on his shoulder as the tears started. Her tears weren't just for Alice, but also for knowing she'd have to walk away from Edward all over again. But for now, she took him up on his offer and sought comfort in him, and in response to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and kissed her forehead before sliding her face down deeper into his chest. She wiped her eyes before allowing her hand to grip his shirt below the neckline.

"I was so worried about you," he murmured. "I thought you must have been with her...in the car."

With her in his arms, Edward was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief that day and said a silent prayer thanking the Lord that Bella was safe. When he had gotten the call about Alice, his first thought was whether or not Bella had been with her. Part of the reason he had rushed to the hospital was because no one could tell him on the phone if Alice had any passengers with her.

It would have ruined him to lose her… again.

When Felix and Angela returned, they found Bella and Edward in a comforting canoodle that neither commented on as they set coffees down for them on the table and relayed good news from the doctors about their recovery expectations for Alice. Edward thanked Felix but made no move to offer him back his chair.

The next six hours passed by in a blur.

They were joined in the waiting room by Alice's brother, Peter, and his wife, Charlotte. Each of them seemed to take turns trying to reassure the others that everything would be okay, that the doctors remained hopeful.

The group huddled together when fate seemingly changed course, and they were informed that Alice was being rushed to surgery for hemorrhaging in the brain.

After five hours of surgery, doctors appeared in the waiting room and delivered the awful news to Alice's family and friends, addressing them with apologies followed by the dreaded "she didn't make it" line.

Surrendering to the pain and sorrow, Alice's friends hugged her family and cried together, and when they could do no more, Edward offered to take Felix, Angela, and Bella home.

~x~

When dropping Felix off at his place, Edward assured him that he would see Angela and Bella home safely. Felix thanked Edward for going to the hospital when they called him earlier that day.

As he pulled into the parking lot of the girls' condo, Edward silently cursed how differently the circumstances seemed to be each time he had arrived there over the past few weeks—from the therapy mornings when he was so hopeful and things seemed so uncomplicated, to the night they were kissing in his car with his swollen jaw at the end of their date, to the other night when he was so intent on winning her back, to now—under more difficult and uncertain circumstances. At least it wasn't raining tonight, but he suspected he would drop her off and walk away not knowing when he would hear from her again, and even when he did hear from her, what state of mind would she be in?_ Unexpected circumstances_ he told himself, _sometimes they work for you and sometimes they work against you_. He wasn't going to let his own agenda be more important at a time like this. He was going to have to believe that once Bella somehow made it past this tragic time, he'd do what his brother advised- sit her down and talk this over. He should have done that last night but he was hasty and sloppy, letting his desire to lay some real claim to her - and to convince her to stay at Harvard - get the best of him.

"I'll walk you up," he told the girls with a yawn as he put the car in park and turned the key off. He lagged slightly behind them as they walked upstairs to the door, which Angela opened with her key and headed straight for the bathroom, leaving just Bella and Edward by themselves.

"I guess I should go," he said softly. Edward held back as Bella lingered by the door; she put an unsure hand in the air then put it through her hair as she found herself awkwardly asking him if he wanted to come in. He looked at his watch; it was almost two in the morning. He didn't automatically decline but hedged, stating she'd been through enough already tonight and he hadn't really gotten a lot of sleep the night prior, so he really shouldn't.

"But…how will I know if you get home safe? I mean…I've already lost one person I…" Bella trailed off.

Despite how drained he felt, her words were a small spark of consolation to a long, unbearable day. He smiled at her and in his gentlest voice reassured her, "Turn your phone on; I'll call you when I get home." He leaned in and kissed her lightly on her cheek, whispering, "Bye, Bella." _I love you._

He turned slightly before he heard her talking again. "What…what if I fall asleep before you call?" It was a real concern she told herself. She was mentally exhausted and barely was keeping her eyes open as it was.

"Then I'll leave you a message. I think that'll make an even ten for the day. Goodnight." He almost chuckled out loud as he turned back to head down the stairs.

Edward placed his foot down onto the second step then stopped abruptly.

_Does she not want me to go?_ he suddenly hoped.

He spun around, surprised. With three quick steps back toward her, he reached out to grasp her chin, tilting it up and searching her eyes intensely. His eyes darted back and forth at hers rapidly. His tongue flicked out leaving his lips warm and grabbing the slightest taste of her that mingled in the air between them.

"What are you saying, Bella?"

Bella squirmed at his touch, averting her eyes. She swallowed harshly at the tension that suddenly surrounded them, thick and consuming in artificial light and natural darkness.

"_Stay_," she uttered. It wasn't a command like a parent would say to a child, nor was it a polite request. It was desperate-a plea from her to him.

Edward released his grip, but not his hold over her. "Do you have an extra toothbrush?" He smiled, breaking through all the tension, as he pushed the door open further behind her. They both took steps in—hers backward and his steps forward, shadowing hers.

"Girls always do," she replied with a slight nervous laugh as he closed and locked the door behind him. With a subtle tone, he joked about how comfortable her couch had always looked to him, as a way to assure her he was just staying there as a comforting gesture. They met Angela in the kitchen getting a glass of water.

"Umm, Edward is going to stay here tonight. On the couch. If that's okay with you?"

"I'd be relieved if he did, actually."

Bella left the kitchen and began pulling out extra pillows and blankets from the hall closet. She dropped them onto the couch for him then ducked into the bathroom. When she returned, she tossed a new, packaged toothbrush on the coffee table, mustering up a slight smirk to herself, as she thanked him for the ride home.

"G'night," Bella said quietly. "Bathroom is down the hall. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

As she turned to head to her room, he caught her wrist gently and held it up in the space between them.

"Promise me," he said, "you won't jump in a cab and take off on me tomorrow morning."

She looked over at his long fingers wrapped around her small wrist and back up at his serious face, glancing between the two places twice more. "I won't," she whispered solemnly.

After returning to her room and changing, Bella heard a slight knock. She froze.

"It's me," Angela said in a hushed tone. After Bella let her in, Angela asked if she wanted to talk about it.

"How does this happen?" Bella sniffled. "I was in an accident too. Why did I survive and she didn't?"

"Don't think like that." Angela's blurry eyes shared in Bella's sorrow, but she tried to stifle the tears and address the Edward subject. "So…what's going on with you and Edward?"

Bella covered her eyes and then groaned. No use keeping it from her. "I slept with him last night," she whispered.

"Oh!"

"And I was so mad at myself this morning for doing that, that I just up and left him. But… you don't need to hear this now."

"Hey, it's what Alice would do if she was here, isn't it?"

Bella nodded in agreement, and Angela gave her a compassionate expression. "So, why were you mad at yourself?"

"Because…oh, you know, because of what you heard him say. And I don't want to be in love with him if he is still so in love with someone else. I felt like I finally just gave in. He got what he wanted."

"And, it's not what you wanted? Because you're been working on reconciling with Mike..." Angela said poignantly, not having missed the part where Bella suggested she might be 'in love' with Edward.

"What?" Bella lowered her voice, incredulous to what Angela had just asked. "No. I don't want Mike."

"You don't? I thought that you wanted him back in your life. I thought that when you talked to him it was for... Then...what _do_ you want?"

"I've been fighting it all week, but there's always been something about him, how I just always felt like we fit…in a way that I can't even explain...So yeah, I want…" Bella nodded toward her door. "…_him_." She grimaced before adding, "But only if _I'm_ the only one _he _wants. I can't compete with an ex, who may or may not still be in the picture."

"Well I don't know who it is he claimed he was still in love with that day I overheard him on the phone, and I'm beginning to wish I had never heard him say that even, but I do know who he's been devoted to for some time now, and she's sitting right next to me." When Bella didn't give much of a reaction to Angela's words, Angela continued. "I apologized to him at the hospital today."

"You did? For what?"

"Yeah, I did. It was my fault that you didn't make it to the coffee house last week. I should have never gotten you to do those shots with me. I'm sorry to you, too."

"No, Ang, it was my fault. I was just so worked up over the Mike thing, and I didn't realize what a lightweight I'd become. I hadn't done shots like that in a really long time. Things just got out of control."

Angela agreed they each had their part and took responsibility in the night's detour. "And now this," she said, referring to Alice, tears filling her eyes. "I'd take that night over this night."

"Me too."

"Things change in the blink of an eye, Bella," Angela sighed as she dabbed at her eyes, "Like today. But you know, most things are more gradual. Maybe that's what's happening with you two. I mean, he stayed at the hospital all day, and now he's here."

Angela leaned her head on Bella's shoulder before saying goodnight and adding, "I think you need to find out where you stand with him before you make any decisions."

Angela closed Bella's door on the way out, leaving Bella in her softly lit room, attempting to fall asleep. She imagined herself going out to the couch to be next to him and he'd welcome her with open arms. Then she imagined him denying her, telling her it was too late after the way she treated him today.

She tossed and turned quietly, the warring scenarios replaying out in her mind, over and over.

Her heart's tug-of-war ended when a slight tap came at her door, just before Edward stepped in. Almost fully clothed in his jeans and white tee, he approached her cautiously, sat down on her bed and took her face into his curved hand.

The day had been overwhelming for him for so many different reasons. As he looked at her, he thought about the day he had to leave the hospital in Forks without knowing what she remembered and only keeping tabs on her through his parents. Leaving that day was the hardest thing in the world he had ever done. After hearing her tell him that she woke up and knew she was staring into the wrong set of eyes, he felt he had failed her. He should have stayed. _He_ should have been the first face she saw when she woke up.

_I never want to fail you again,_ he thought as he sat there staring into her eyes.

Saying nothing, Bella scooted over and held the covers up for him.

He slid in, gently rolled Bella on her side away from him, and spooned against her. Consumed with exhaustion, she fell asleep in the comfort of his arms. When he could hear her soft coos of slumber, he kissed her hair and told her he loved her before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

_~Bella dreaming~ _

Bella watched the massive double doors open, and she saw a man with very short hair standing with his back to her. Slowly, his one foot took a step backwards, his head still in the library. She watched as his neck turned from side to side, like he was looking for something or someone inside the library.

As the doors began closing, he pulled his head out and looked around outside, definitely showing surprise when he noticed Bella standing there.

"Jasper?" Bella asked, recognizing him and realizing where she was at because she could more clearly see the sign on the door that read: Widener Library.

"Bella?" He squinted in the light, trying to get a better look at her. "Bella Swan? Holy Shit, it is you!"

Waves of feeling washed over each of them, as they both experienced an inexplicable moment of 'it's so good to see a familiar face' joy. Without hesitation, he hugged her and she returned his embrace. Holding onto each other securely but briefly—the moment was over before Bella had a chance to understand why she felt so happy to see him.

"What…what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Truthfully? I'm not sure."

"Did you transfer to Harvard? Last I heard you were serving in the army."

"I hate to admit this, but I think I'm a little lost. I'm not even sure how I got here. I'm in the army, yes, and I've been trained for combat, but I feel like I'm on a special mission right now. Seeing that I'm at a library, I guess I'm just supposed to be collecting something before I'm on my way. Possibly meeting a contact for some intel. I'm waiting to find out more. But, while I wait, I'm glad I ran into you."

"You are?" she asked.

"Yeah. For a while now I've been hoping to see you, actually. I have something I need to tell you."

There was a sturdy wooden bench just outside the doors. He glanced down at her leg, wondering what had happened to her. "Here, why don't we sit down." He motioned to the bench, and placed a guiding arm around her to crutch her, before they both sat.

"How old are we now, Bella?"

"Twenty-two," she replied.

"Right. Way past high school, and yet I know what you must think of me. I didn't treat you in a respectful manner back then, but I'm sure that I've changed. It took me a few girls after you to get me to wise up though."

Bella looked into his grey eyes and remembered why she fell for him in high school-his easy charisma and boyish charm-and why losing him was so crushing.

"You know," he paused to shake his head, "guys are stupid. No. Let correct myself. _Boys _are stupid. And that's all I was back then, Bella, a boy. And though my momma tried, I didn't really have a dad around to kind of guide me. I had a stepfather who threw money at me to keep my mother happy. But, I let too many of my decisions be influenced by scoring points with the guys and, oh shit I'll just say it, popularity."

"But why...why are you telling me this now?"

"Why now? I just feel like I should tell you while I have the chance. Because for a long time, I've wanted to say that I'm sorry. And I don't want you to let how I treated you make you think that is how all guys should, or would, treat you. I mean, hell, I'm pretty conceited to sit here and think, to even suggest, that you wouldn't have figured this out by now. I'm sure you've had a bunch of guys come and go since me."

Bella laughed. "What makes you think that?"

"You're so pretty and you could always make me laugh. Remember the time we sneaked into the comedy club?" He broke off laughing.

Bella was suddenly laughing at the memory, too. "And I volunteered to go up on stage and …"

"And the guy made you…"

Bella and Jasper were in such hysterics they couldn't seem to finish the story, and neither realized they suddenly had company.

"Swannie! _Swan-nie_! There you are! I've been looking all over campus for you. Where were you? I left you messages."

Caught off guard, Bella's laughter subsided but the elation remained as she turned around excitedly to see Alice walking toward them, unclear where she came from.

"Alice?" Bella placed her hand on the bench's armrest and forced herself up to standing with the intention of running to her friend, but she was already right in front of her. Bella hugged her without abandon, holding her securely, before releasing her. "Would you mind telling me how you're alive?" Bella asked her in exasperation.

Alice laughed. "Would you mind telling me how you got up those steps with that broken leg?"

Bella looked down and realized the cast was on her leg. _How did I?_ she wondered. "I…I think I had help." She looked around for her crutches. They were leaning against a column.

"I'd say so!" Alice insisted with a laugh. "It's all going to be okay, Swannie. You're one very lucky girl! Did you listen to my messages?"

"No," Bella replied staring down at the bottom of the steps.

"Well you need to listen to what I was trying to tell you, or you're never gonna get the picture! _Wait!_" Alice was suddenly very taken with the young man who remained seated on the bench. "Who is this?"

Jasper stood up quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Alice, this is Jasper. Jasper, this is Alice, one of my friends here at Harvard."

"Nice to meet you," Alice held out her hand. "Another Jasper?" Alice whispered to Bella. Bella smiled with a shrug. She didn't feel like she needed to tell Alice that this was _thee Jasper_, after the conversation she had just had with him.

"Private Whitlock, Ma'am. Likewise," Jasper said before planting a small kiss on her hand.

Alice giggled before turning back to Bella. She hugged her tightly. "Oh, this is going to be so fantastic! Everything is all set."

Bella released her and looked at her skeptically. _Set for what__?_ Bella wondered. Alice beamed back waiting for some appreciation from Bella, but Bella was too dumbfounded to realize that's what Alice expected. "You're welcome," Alice told her and shook her head at her seeming lack of gratitude. "Thank Felix, for me okay? He's a _great _guy, Bella. I just wanted you to know that before I left. I have to go now."

"Go where?" Bella asked.

"Um, you know what? To the same place I think your friend here was heading."

"May I accompany you, then? I'd be much obliged to be your escort," Jasper offered to her.

"Of course!" She beamed at Bella. "Libraries! They bring everyone together! Oh, but Bella, you shouldn't have any trouble getting to where you need to be, now that your leg is all healed."

"What?" Bella looked down at her leg. The cast was gone. She stood upright with no support. She looked over to the column her crutches had been leaning against, but they were no longer there.

Alice hugged Bella tightly once more, telling her enthusiastically, "You came here to heal, and you have."

Jasper was taken with Alice. Is this who he'd been sent here to find? If so, it took her long enough to get here. "I'd listen to this little lady's intel." He hugged Bella once Alice let her go. "I'm sorry for everything," he whispered. He pulled back but left his hands resting on her shoulders. "Take care of yourself, Miss Isabella Swan." Bella nodded to him in agreement, slightly stunned at his apology, before he released her.

She watched Jasper extend his arm to Alice, which she daintily placed her hand upon.

They walked off more quickly than Bella could see. Goodbyes swirled and danced with the leaves through the air.

"I'll dance at your wedding, Bella!" She heard Jasper's voice telling her, followed by Alice's musical laughter.

~x~

* * *

A/n: In my story, Alice had made a prediction for herself.

At breakfast in chapter 5, she stated, _"So when I decide to go off to La La Land and make my mark in this world, I need to make sure I've got the right guy accompanying me."  
_

**Thank you to TwiWeasel and thanks to you for reading.**

**be good,**

**kiTT :)**


	29. At presentCont'd,8

**A/n: ****Are we all okay? Thank you for the extra notes on last chapter. I know there were tears. TwiWeasel, StoryWrtr, and I sobbed too.**

**Despite the events of the chapter -and your expressed frustration with Bella -as the author, I'd like to say that so****me of my favorite parts of this story _to write_ were in that chapter, including all Twimovie quotes/scenes references (yeah, you know me!), Edward pulling her aside to kiss her _like that (imagine if that had been in Eclipse o.O?),_ Bella flicking water in his face (juvenile? yes but harmless), the waiting room standoff that ended in them comforting each other, Edward's anguish that he had to walk away from her and then the awkward moments outside Bella's door when she 'asked' him to stay, and introducing Jasper into the mix on _that_ level. :) That was all fun for me! **

**I think Bella is finally ready to sit still for a moment and reassess the situation. Hope she gets that chance to, before anything else happens. . .**

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I own a ticket stub from the Sir Paul McCartney show I saw recently. :) d'awww, Remember when Edward sang that perfect, perfect Beatles song to Bella... "There are places I remember ...all my life..."

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At** **Present**

~x~

**Cont'd...**

"Did I ever tell you that my first boyfriend died?" Bella asked Edward.

"Who? The one with the funny name?"

"Yeah, Jasper Whitlock. My mom cut his obituary out of the paper and mailed it to me right around the time everything else happened. He had enlisted in the army right out of high school. He died in a night raid."

"Life is fragile," Edward offered pointedly.

"We should know," she returned.

"**Edward..."** the woman's voice echoed through the air.

Edward groaned. "It's going to be soon. And you still haven't answered the question."

_That question. Oh, Edward…_

As she thought about the responsibilities he had, and the pregnant Mrs. Cullen that was expecting him, did it really matter anymore?

"Maybe you should just go do what you need to do and then make your way back here when you can. I'll just be here...waiting for you, as per usual." She smiled sweetly at him.

"No!" He grabbed at his hair then gestured with his hand. "There isn't time for that. You owe me this, Bella," he stated firmly.

_Ha!_ "I owe _you_? Are you kidding me? How do you figure, Edward? Look at what I have to contend with here!" Her hand waved up and down in the air around her, putting herself and her surroundings on display.

~x~

A/n:

**Though the sequel picked up right from the original ending, there is significance within the alternate ending, that is not to be discounted, as well as the summary, paranormally speaking. So as you are thinking about this chapter, there are really 4 possibilities. And that's all I have to say about that.

**Thanks to the TwiWeasel.**

**be good and eat your veggies,**

**kiTT :)**


	30. Absence is Everywhere

**A/n: **So what happened next in _Pride & Prejudice_, you ask? Mr. Darcy, educated and quite skilled at writing letters, packed up and left town, leaving behind a note for Elizabeth in hopes of offering her 'more clarity' about his character and explaining his actions in an attempt to clear up any misunderstandings.

TwiWeasel :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. And while SM's Edward may be able to outrun humans, my story has been known to have two Edwards in it at once. ;) _Possibility._

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Absence is Everywhere**

~x~

When Bella woke up, it felt cold in her room, despite the fact she seemed so well tucked under her blankets. Sadness—deep and all consuming—overtook her.

_Alice._

The loss stabbed at her and made her feel helpless before suddenly remembering, _Edward! _

In a haze, she remembered him holding her, but if he had been there during the night, she didn't know how long he had stayed in her room. That was part of the loss she felt. She got up, dragging along her favorite blanket to wrap around her shoulders. Pulling it up to her nose caused her to sigh. It smelled like him. He definitely had been there.

She opened the door slowly and walked softly down her hall, at least expecting to find Angela. Passing the bathroom, the door was open. She stopped just outside the kitchen and peeked into the living room. The couch was empty, and the blankets were still folded.

The place was quiet. And empty. Absence was everywhere, even in the kitchen where she checked the time. 10 am. On the counter sat a note.

**B****-****  
**

**I'm taking care of the administrative stuff for us this morning. **

**Classes shouldn't be a problem, but if they are I'll call.**

**Turn your damn phone on!**

**Ang**

It was a shame that Bella hadn't thought to flip the note over, or she would have found more words written out for her. But Bella was distracted at the thought of classes! Truth be told, she had forgotten all about them. She was thankful for Angela, as she was too drained to even think about attending her classes.

Bella realized she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning, and had a slight headache, so she took two Advil and washed it down with a glass of water and a banana. She leaned against the breakfast bar, draping her blanket over one of the bar stools, and stared over at the folded blankets on her couch. _So he was worried about me taking off in a cab, but yet he's the one that left? Unbelievable._ She shook her head but wandered over to the window in the living room on the off chance he had simply gone for a run around the perimeter.

His car was nowhere to be seen in the parking lot.

Bella mumbled to herself about wanting to crawl back into bed. She headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and noticed his toothbrush sitting on the counter in the opened package. The bristles were wet. "Glad we could accommodate you, sir," she whispered sarcastically.

Her trip to the bathroom, simply to brush her teeth, ended with her crying in the shower for the second day in a row. How could she have known yesterday, that today would be ten times worse? When she was done sobbing, she sank down into the tub, stopping it up and letting the lukewarm water continue to pound down on her and fill the tub. She rested her elbows on her knees and rubbed at her face before smoothing her wet hair from the top of her head down with repeated strokes.

"Alice, you left." Bella gripped her hands behind her neck. "And now he's gone, too."

She shut her eyes and breathed in deeply. With her eyes closed, she saw the field full of sunshine and flowers from her dream, but felt warm and safe there. Like a memory of something.

"Ahhh…" Bella gasped; her eyes opened wide. All those dreams! They felt so real. In one dream, Jasper was there, apologizing to her. And, Alice was asking if she got her messages.

With overwhelming hope, Bella suddenly needed to hear them, not for the content of the messages exactly, just to hear Alice's voice. She turned off the water, stood up on shaky legs and reached for the towel before heading to her room and wrapping up in her robe. Spreading out across her bed, she grabbed her phone and pressed the button to call her voicemail, before setting it down so she could towel-dry her hair.

~x~

**A/n:**

Thanks so much for all the reviews, favs, and follows!

Hang in there, we're almost done!

**be good,**

**kiTT :)**


	31. At presentCont'd,9

**A/n: At long last...Dior Rob. Mmmmmm...**

Disclaimer: No twilight ownership here.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At present**

**~x~**

**Cont'd...**

"I can't force you, Bella, but how am I supposed to leave here without you telling me? How do you expect me to just walk away?"

Despite his vocalized persistence, he was beginning to relent. Bella tilted her head as she looked over to Edward with sympathetic eyes.

"Edward," she tried to appease him, turning toward him and putting one hand out to him. He took it in his right hand. She slightly rubbed her thumb against his knuckles. "How do I put this? It's like destiny and fate were parents who were divorcing and you and I were caught in the middle of their custody battle, not knowing who to go with. I made my choice. You made yours. And we both moved on."

She watched as his face dropped, and he morphed into a pouting, hurt little boy who didn't get that special toy under the tree on Christmas morning. Looking up into his pained eyes, she granted him, "I might be more persuaded if you pick me some of those sunflowers I see."

He pulled his eyes up to look over at a patch of green that based chocolate brown circles among deep yellow petals. Narrowing his eyes at her request, he questioned if this was just a diversion or keen stall tactic, before he strutted off to a small area of sunflowers that were still thriving. Edward chose a few smaller ones, rather than the huge tall ones. Upon his return, in presenting them to her, Edward made a simple request.

"Will you be my Valentine?"

Bella pulled the flowers to her nose and inhaled deeply. She laughed lightly, tapping two fingers over her heart.

_In this place? Always,_ she thought to herself.

~x~

**A/n:**

Look at me, quoting a Harvard Can Wait line...wait a minute...I just had my character quote himself? *scratches head* Plays in perfectly to what is happening here.

But, I've got a Twilight quote for you...

**"But I'd rather hear your theories" in the comments...**

Thank you, most ardently, to TwiWeasel.

**be good,**

**kiTT :)**


	32. Getting the message

**A/n: So Bella didn't read his note, we've still got his voicemails! Let's listen to what Edward and Alice had to say. I have a feeling Bella is going to hear something in them that is gonna make her go after Edward. **

Thanks to TwiWeasel for constantly supporting this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I love recycling the quotes though! One of my favorite one-word Eclipse quotes is in this, said exactly as Edward said in in the movie. There's the Dirty Dancing quote the Twirls have been waiting for, too!

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Getting the message**

~x~

**12:39 am "Bella? _Belll_-la! It's Alice. I know it's late but I just got off work. I need to tell you something. It's about Edward. Call me."**

**1****:20 am "Bella, where are you? Okay look. I'm heading over to Felix's for the night but I need to talk to you. It's about Edward. I think we misjudged him. Yes I said we—as in you, Angela, and even me!"**

**9:11 am "Bella, it's me, Edward. Did you seriously just hang up on me? I-I need to…we need to talk. Not just about last night. I need you to call me back."**

**9:32 am "Bella. Last night was…perfect and real. Uhh, that's the only way to describe it. I don't know what spooked you this morning, but I wasn't prepared for this…for you to just leave like that. Maybe we **_**should **_**have talked last night, but… we have to talk about everything."**

**10:08 am "Good morning, Bellshine. Why haven't you called me back? Haven't you heard? Nobody puts Alice in ****the ****voicemail corner! **giggles** Anyway****, Felix, nice guy that he is, is actually letting me borrow his car so**** I'm heading out to do some shoe shopping today, picking up some dry cleaning, yadda, yadda, that sort of thing. Did you wanna go? I could use the company! If so you better call me. If not, well afterwards I want to stop by. I have something to show you. It's about Edward. I think I found something that explains everything. Oh, and in case you see him. Tell him I have his wallet."**

**10:10 am "Bella, ****i****t's Edward. *clears throat* I want to talk to you. I **_**need**_** to talk to you. At the very least I want to make sure you got home okay."**

**10:40 am "Bella this is ridiculous! I finally called the cab company to confirm they dropped you off. I need to know what happened. Why did you leave like that?"**

**11:00 am "Again? ****O****h, fuck****! ****This is not the way I wanted to do this. Don't make me do it this way. Please Bella...please. Just****...****call me back. You have to tell me what you're thinking. Just stay at your condo, okay? Don't go anywhere or do anything reckless. I don't want to lose you."**

_What does he mean by that? _Bella asked herself before admitting [or maybe just wistfully rationalizing] that his words were so full of concern and definitely didn't sound like a _wham, bam, thank you ma'am. _

"It's true," his deep voice murmured from across the room. "I don't."

"_Jeeezus!_" Bella jumped and sat up, startled. "You scared the shit out of me!" She scrambled to stop the phone's voicemail.

Edward stood in her doorway with a bakery bag and carry-out tray that held two coffees.

"Sorry," he snickered, after witnessing her hand fly to her chest and realizing that he'd caught her completely off guard.

"You're here?" she asked in between a few deep breaths, like he wasn't real, not really sure how to address this thing between them as she felt caught in the act.

"I'm here."

"How did you get…?" Bella shook her head, resting her fingertips at her temple. Her dull headache was still present. "I woke up and thought you left... for good. _You were_...you were gone."

"Yeah. Angela gave me an extra key this morning before she left, so I let you sleep while I went home to shower and change. I hadn't showered since..." A hint of blush crossed his cheeks, accompanied by a faint crooked smile. "Well, you know." Edward cleared his throat then swiped across his chin. "And I needed to shave."

"Oh . . yeah," Bella said, relieved as she took in his smooth face and the clothes he was wearing that gave him a preppy look. Yesterday he had been in a hoodie and blue jeans at the hospital, clothes he had obviously just thrown on in a hurry. Today he was more neatly put together under his open jacket. Harvard McDreamy was wearing a grey sweater over a collared, white button-down shirt with black jeans.

"I left you a note saying I was coming back." Edward offered her a small smile. "It was on the other side of Angela's note."

"Oh. I must have missed that," she told him quietly.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

Bella laughed slightly. It's not like he asked last night…or she turned him away. "Sure, but only if one of those coffees is for me."

"Of course. I swung by Hawthorne Farms too and picked us up donuts." He smiled, happy with his gesture and what it meant. He knew this morning would be rough, and he wanted to try to offer some comfort to her.

Reminded of their date, she thanked him as he handed her a coffee cup, cautioning how hot it was before setting the other coffee and bag down on her bureau. He took his black jacket off, laying it across the end of her unmade bed [the bed he had shared with her last night], before he sat down next to her.

"So, I see you're finally getting around to listening to your messages."

"Yeah, I decided I should ...I mean, I wanted to hear them." He smelled clean, just like that white soap from his shower. A wave of shower memories hit Bella suddenly, and with two hands she tightly gripped the hot outside of the cup until the flashes passed. The towel on her head came loose, flopping to one side, and he moved to pull the towel off, smoothing down pieces of her hair that had fallen naturally across her back. She observed that his hair was still damp, leaving her to assume he had been quick about returning to her.

"Sounds like you're up to message number…oh, I don't know, ninety-nine that I left for you. How are you doing this morning?"

"Not so good," she replied with tears suddenly stinging the back of her eyes. "Can you tell me the last twenty hours didn't happen?"

"I can't do that."

Taking a tentative sip of her coffee, she blinked the tears back and wondered why he was even back here. Then that feeling of guilt that had crept in a few minutes before he appeared at her door overcame her, and she needed an answer.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

His voice dropped, vulnerable and willing. "Anything." He meant it more than Bella realized.

Cautiously, she approached the subject of Alice in a low tone. "Do you know if Alice was on her way here when it happened?"

Edward was surprised, and his face prominently displayed the worry lines across his forehead. That wasn't what he expected from her. "No, I don't think so. It happened closer to the coffee house, I'm pretty sure, in town. Felix said she needed to pick up her paycheck. Why?"

"It's just…her message said she was coming over here at some point. To show me something." Bella looked from her phone up into Edward's eyes. "About you."

"I heard," he paused, flashing a weak smile, "before I opened the door."

Bella put her head back down, and Edward suspected this was her feeling shame. "Bella, if you were looking to feel guilty, then you should know, it's not your fault. You didn't cause the accident, no matter where she was heading."

Edward smoothed more of Bella's wet tendrils down in front of her chin and across her shoulder. His eyes followed the trail of his fingers, avoiding the way her loosely tied robe was displaying her cleavage.

Bella was suddenly very aware of how she looked. Undressed. Except for the long white terry bathrobe with a hotel emblem on it, from the weekend at a spa she attended with Mike last year; it was the first time he had brought up getting married. She fiddled with the material where it met at her chest, pulling it closed to cover more of herself. "Do you know what it was? What she wanted to tell me, I mean."

"To tell you? About me? Ummm." He blew some air out of his mouth. "Maybe?" He shrugged lightly. "She and I had a conversation that night at the coffee house." He chuckled. "Maybe that's putting it nicely. She basically handed me my balls, accusing me of leading you on. I'm sure she was pretty proud of herself, too. But, to_ show_ you about me?" He shook his head slightly. "No. I have no idea."

He paused for a moment and remembered that Alice had told him to see other girls-_anyone but Bella_.

"Ugh," he groaned, tilting his head away and rolling his eyes. "Unless it was the phone numbers of some girls she collected." Edward put his hands up, pulling away from her slightly to defend himself. "But I swear I didn't take them from her. She must have just stuffed those slips of paper into my wallet." Edward said the last part more to himself.

Bella wanted to laugh that all 4 feet 9 inches of Alice had given Edward more than he bargained for, but that exchange left her feeling newly conflicted. Edward noticed the pained look on her face and the wrinkle that had formed above her nose. "What is it?" he asked.

"Don't think I'm crazy, okay. I had this dream last night..."

"A dream?" he asked calmly, hiding the slight anticipation he felt.

"Yeah...I was on campus." Bella hesitated while Edward's thoughts of their shared meadow dream were squashed. "And she told me...God, it felt _so real, _you know?"

Edward gave a quick nod in understanding.

"Alice was telling me that if I didn't listen to my messages I'd never get the picture." Bella shook her head. "And yet here I am listening to you tell me she was encouraging you to date other girls? I'm not sure what I expected to hear, but that wasn't it." Bella threw one hand up in the air and leaned back against her headboard. "I don't know, it just doesn't make sense."

Edward turned to face Bella, his arm outstretched across her and his hand pressed into the bed, resting beside her leg, propping himself up. He brought his face close to hers. "After everything, do you think Alice was right?" His voice was low, and his lips were way too close to hers for just talking.

Bella narrowed her eyes at him. "Right about which part?"

"Any of it." Edward's lips met hers, and she allowed for his soft touch. "_You_ don't think I should date other girls, do you?" he asked, after their lips parted and her eyes opened. He leaned in and kissed her again. Looking into his eyes was too confusing, and she pulled away from him.

With her fingers curved over her mouth, Bella forced a chuckle. "I think...Alice was probably right in that I'm never going to figure it all out and get the picture." Bella took another sip of her coffee. She was going to take Angela's advice from last night. "Look, Edward, I appreciate you staying last night to console me and coming back this morning to check on me, but I don't think our truce in the hospital allots for you kissing me like that, especially not when you're still..." Bella trailed off as she watched Edward turn away suddenly.

_Never get the picture? _Edward mulled over those words, ending in a revelation.

_Picture! _Edward conceded as he rolled his eyes, harder this time. Just the other day he had taken the picture his mother had sent him off the refrigerator and moved it to his wallet. "_Fuck_!" He put his head down and turned away from her as he said that. "She must have gone through my wallet when she put those numbers in…." Again, Edward said those words aloud more so out of his own astonishment over Alice getting (and taking) the opportunity.

"Your wallet?" Bella asked, thankful for the distraction and change of subject. "Oh right. Alice had it." Bella squinted her eyes trying to fathom an answer to the question she was about to ask him, taking another sip of her coffee and swallowing before chancing, "Um, why exactly did she have it, again?"

Edward removed his arm and scooted away from her. With a worried glance, he explained, "I was kind of in a hurry to leave the coffee house the other night. To find you. I threw them out...those slips of paper." He pulled his wallet out from his back pocket, opened it up and slid the picture out. He cupped his hand around it, carefully concealing the image from her.

"Oh," Bella replied timidly at hearing his words, as she watched what he was doing, interested in what he had in his hand.

"I'm going to show you this, but I need to know something first, okay?"

Bella nodded and readjusted her position on the bed so she was sitting up on her knees. She took care not to spill the coffee or spill out of her robe.

"How much do you remember about me?" he asked her point blank, pulling his bottom lip inward with his teeth.

"From the other night?" Bella flushed. She raised the cup to her mouth and sealed her lips around the lid, sucking down another gulp and avoiding his eyes. She remembered _lots _of important details about Edward Cullen from the other night.

Edward took the coffee cup from her hand and set it on the table beside them. He didn't want anything to distract her.

"No, from before…" Edward watched her carefully, trying to take in her reaction. Her facial expressions only suggested confusion about what he was asking.

He felt like he had tried everything. This was as good a way to do it as any.

"The other night, you asked me how I knew your ex-boyfriend, Mike. It's because I grew up in Forks. We went to school together." Edward's jaw clenched. It still angered him. _How could Mike have met up with Bella __before __me__?_ He repeated himself in case she was willing to offer up something more she might have known. "In Forks."

Her eyes showed surprise and hesitation at that information, but the mention of that town made her cringe. She didn't want to relive the nightmare of her accident.

Edward waited for her to offer up something more.

"This is my fault," he chided himself in a hushed tone, putting his face down toward the picture in his hand and then looking back into her eyes. "When we were in the park the other night, and you told me how you felt waking up in the hospital, I thought you knew. I thought you remembered, maybe not all of it, but at least some. At the very least, I thought you remembered _me_."

_Edward was __from__ Forks? _Bella sat dumbfounded. It only vaguely sounded familiar that he had told her, but there was so much going on the other night, and since then, there had been even more distracting her to have given it any thought. Her past and present seemed to keep colliding around her more often than she could keep up with.

"And then at my house, I asked you if it was real and you told me_ yes_. That's all I really ever wanted to hear from you, Bella." He reached out, allowing the back of his curled fingers to trail lightly down the soft skin of her cheek. "But you don't remember it," he said softly, "do you?"

"Remember what, exactly?" She closed her eyes at the feel of his touch, and bristled with the feelings of tentative uncertainty his touch was stirring within her.

He watched her skin darken to a pink and felt it warm in reaction to his stroking. With her eyes closed, he stole a glance at the open area of her robe above her breasts and decided she might not be wearing anything under it. How easy it would be to slide his hand from her cheek down to her neck, and slip it under the white, fluffy material. Perhaps even find that mole along her shoulder again.

He cleared his throat before he got himself sidetracked and pulled his hand away from her face. In reaction, she opened her eyes to find him looking at her like he was going to kiss her again.

Regaining his composure, he refocused his thoughts, took a deep breath, and held the picture out, quietly offering it to her.

He spoke softly.

"Here."

**~x~**

**A/n: Well, they've shared car rides, picked apples, kissed, ran in the rain, made love, argued, and cried together. Looks like these two are finally sitting down together to just quietly talk and discuss things with no distractions in sight. *looks left. looks right* Nope, don't see anyone else or anything around. Just a picture.**

When Bella was sneaking out of Edward's house and stopped in his kitchen with the thought to grab a bottle of water out of his refrigerator, I was waiting for someone to remember about the picture he had hung up on his fridge but no one did but that's okay. A writer 'counts' on its audience to forget or discount certain things!

thanks for reading! thanks for reviews!

kiTT :)


	33. At presentCont'd,10

**A/n: Happy Friday! **

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At Present****  
**

~x~

**Cont'd...**

Edward laughed slightly. "Leave it to Alice to actually go _through_ my wallet."

"Yeah, we should be very, very pissed at her." Bella smirked at Edward.

"Can you quit smirking like that? She's the one that encouraged me to find another girl to date. Lots of girls. I think as many as I could handle."

Bella threw Edward a look that told him to both knock it off and how full of himself he was.

"Anyway, a guy's wallet is sacred."

"When it came to Alice, I don't think anything was _sacred_," Bella laughed.

"You're wrong. _You_ were. So, indirectly, I guess I was, too." A silence fell between the two before Edward remarked, "I feel all this gratitude toward her. "

"Well that's why we're here, after all." Bella looked around expectantly, before pointing at something that caught her eye. "Hey, what's over there?"

"Where?" Edward turned to follow Bella's gaze. "Oh, the remaining pumpkins. At some point my mom decided the meadow needed a pumpkin patch. She told me once that she liked having some color out here after the summer wildflowers die off."

~x~

A/n: The picture was at the end of Chapter 10 Planned Deja Vu (That was their first trip to the park!)

What will Bella's reaction be to the picture?


	34. True Love Is Frozen in Time

**A/n: This is it ...the chapter TwiWeasel and I have been most looking forward to sharing! Thanks coach! **

**I'd like to welcome some new readers into the mix, especially the ones who just read HCW and then started HCWnl this week and are all caught up, ready for the ending! ;) **

**Have you ever seen the movie "Charlie St Cloud" with the Zef? If so, _WHOA!_ it's a little HCW/HCWnl isn't it? O.O Remember what he tells the girl at the end about her dreams? If you haven't seen it, put it on your list.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

**~xXx~**

True Love is Frozen in Time

~x~

"I know you know about..." Edward paused, not knowing how to refer to _her _without making it sound worse than it was. "The girl Angela overheard me talking about on the phone. The girl I said I was in love with when school started."

Bella grimaced. _The girl he _was_ in love with? Did that mean he__'s not still in love with her? _Her heart was in such disrepair last night, but Angela's words helped give her some hope that Edward's feelings for her had grown stronger than for his ex-girlfriend. That was why she allowed him to share her bed last night. Bella looked at him wondering how he knew that she knew.

Edward continued, almost as if he had just read her mind. "Alice told me. And, I need to explain to you about that. This is a picture of her."

"Are you going to explain why you lied to me about her?" Bella said, unsure if she was trying to give him an out or lessen the potential blow of her own heartache.

"Lie? I didn't."

"Yes, you did, Edward! At the farm, I asked you if there was anyone else in the picture. You told me 'nothing of any consequence' remember? And I've racked my brain trying to understand what this," Bella motioned between them with her hand, "all means. Are you still _with_ her or did things end but you just aren't over her?" Bella hesitated before offering a hopeful, "Or _were _you not over her in September but now things have changed?"

"I didn't lie." He thought about what he said and what he meant that day. He meant the girls in his life prior to being in the hospital as _nothing of any consequence _but when considering her, _she_ was of major consequence to his life_. _He raked his fingers through his hair. "Or, at least, I didn't mean to lie. Jesus, I just...it's complicated, and after what you went through, I didn't think you could handle hearing the story that day. You were finally opening up to me about your accident. I wanted you to be able to trust me first. I wanted you to be able to trust yourself."

"That doesn't answer my question." She shrugged.

"No, but this will." _Truth.. __frozen in time, _Edward thought.

He held the picture out more firmly. Bella reached out to take it, curiosity getting the best of her, and sarcasm. _Of course, he kept a picture of his ex __in his wallet. _And no doubt she was going to be drop-dead gorgeous. Sure he told _her _that he preferred brunettes, but that didn't mean this girl wouldn't be tall, slender, and leggy with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, possibly even European—together they probably looked like the perfect match, a real life Barbie and Ken.

Sucking in a breath to brace herself, Bella looked at the picture, prepared to feel insignificant by the site of a Heidi Klum-like goddess, but instead, she found something completely tender, endearing, and _unexpected_. She took in the scene in the picture of two toddlers sitting facing each other with their bare feet touching, surrounded by a field of tall grass and pastel flowers.

The little boy, with so much blond hair, in a blue and grey romper, reminded her of the boy from the dream she was having when Angela came pounding on her door yesterday.

And the little girl in the picture, with wispy brown strands of hair that stuck out of a white sun bonnet, wore a matching white eyelet sundress and a playful, happy smile on her face.

Edward sat breathlessly as Bella's mind raced. Her face scrunched this way and that, as she suspected at first, and then thought more and more about it, until she finally recognized herself in the photo.

"But that's. . .I think that's. . . _me_," she said, vocalizing her theory but perplexed by the overall picture, as she didn't recognize where it could have been taken, not to mention why he would have it.

A smile broke through a straight-faced Edward, releasing the breath he was holding. He flipped the picture over in her hands to show her what it read:

**Edward and Isabella '91**

Edward's eyes smiled gently to hear Bella admit she recognized herself. With tenderness in his voice he replied, "And that's me."

Bella looked up at him, wondering how… _how__. . . _"How?" she asked, then flipped the picture back over and studied the setting around them. All of those softly-colored flowers, against a sunlit backdrop, were just like in her recent dream.

The moment finally belonged to Edward. He grabbed Bella's face, his thumbs putting slight pressure on her temples. His eyes burned into hers with everything he had—every memory, every feeling, every hope and dream since he first laid eyes on her at Harvard that day in orientation.

"It's you... _you!_ Don't you see?" He leaned his forehead to press upon hers, breathing in her shampoo-perfumed hair and taking pleasure in the feel of her warm skin. "It's_ always_ been you."

"Me?" she whispered with a cracking of her voice, as she looked up into his convincing emerald eyes. "But… I don't…I don't understand. I don't know how."

Edward rubbed his forehead against hers, ghosting his lips over hers.

"Bella, you _do_ know," he breathed, repeating "you know" twice more before pressing his lips slightly against hers. As his light touch turned more passionate, Bella's lips moved with his, her responsiveness increasingly grew stronger and stronger with acceptance and a sense of a guiltless reunion. He pulled away to pepper her face with small kisses, allowing himself words in between. "Didn't you feel how all the years of emptiness disappeared after you got here?"

Placing the picture off to the side, her hands came up to rest on his chest, and she sighed happily into him, feeling lighter due to the burden lifted, nodding her head yes but wondering how he knew_ she _felt that way. He assured her in a whisper, "It's been that way for me too," before placing a kiss to her hair.

"Me?" she pulled away to look up at him as she asked again with a slight chuckle. "And there really is no..."

"_You_." His hand came up to rest against the back of her head. His voice turned raspy. "_Only_ you."

Bella fell quietly against his chest, thinking for too long, while Edward held her securely to him.

"You have to tell me what you're thinking," he said finally after an extended silence.

"I just…I just didn't want to be a bed warmer while you were longing to be with someone else. I didn't want to be just another girl you entertained here and there with no real investment."

Edward laughed at her. Really? _No real investment?_ Other than classes, he hadn't invested his time and energy into anyone or anything _but _her. "You went looking for a toothbrush at my place. Did it look like I entertained a lot of girls?" Bella thought over the things she had seen in his bathroom, a minimal amount of items. She didn't see anything left by other girls.

"No, but I thought ...you still loved your ex-girlfriend ...but it just...was hard...like it was a long-distance thing…"

He pulled back to listen and look at her. "And you were what...just convenient? A short-distance fling?" he asked with knitted eyebrows.

She nodded. "Just someone to _fill the void.._"

His hands moved to rest on her shoulders. "I had _no_ idea you had any reason to think that until Alice told me the other night. I'm so sorry, Bella. All of my ex-girlfriends are just that, exes, and miles away from you, in more ways than one. You do fill the void -you're the only one who _could_ fill the void- but that's because it's a void you created."

He smiled at her and looked into her eyes before pulling her into an embrace. When they pulled away from each other, Edward knew it was time to set the record straight, so that her mind could finally accept and chose to catch up with what he knew her heart held and what her soul could hopefully no longer deny.

"What do you mean, that I created it? And I'm still having a hard time completely understanding this photo. We've met before?"

He crooked his finger and placed it under her chin, holding her face up to his steadily. He needed to see her eyes.

"At one time you lived by me in Forks. Our houses backed up to the meadow where this picture was taken. But then you moved away, and it's like you took a piece of me with you. Some part of me has loved you – the girl in this picture - all of my life. And it's _you_, Bella, who I'm in love with today more than ever."

As he leaned in and kissed her again, with what Bella could only describe as a kiss infused with the passion of a soulmate, Bella was incapacitated by the amount of completeness and love she overwhelmingly felt—both _from_ him and _for_ him.

A slight gasp escaped her chest when he pulled away. "So..._I'm_ the only one in the picture?" she asked half jokingly, playing on the words, with a smile.

"You're the only girl my eyes see." He smiled at her. Bella melted.

Edward picked up the picture from the bed and held it out to her to confirm his story. "Didn't your parents tell you that you used to live in Forks?"

"No. I wonder why." Bella shook her head slightly as she really did wonder why they hadn't told her. In the moment, she completely accepted Edward's version of something she had no recollection of, but she'd still have to ask her parents why she seemed to be the last to know.

"This...Us...is about more than a picture though. Play the next message," he directed. "Please." He picked up her phone and held it out to her.

Bella looked at him, about to ask why, then thought better of questioning him. He had already informed her of so much.

She accepted her phone from him and pressed the next message to play. As the message started, Edward interrupted himself. "No, not that one, skip to the last one I left from my phone." Bella did as he asked.

**11:56 am ****Bella, I don't know how much you remember about us, but while you were in the hospital in Forks, unconscious, so was I. And you and I met up…or our souls did. I don't care how crazy this sounds, because I know ****deep down ****you **_**know**_** how connected we are. You just don****'t trust it, ****but please, trust me, when I say this.**** There isn't any ex-girlfriend that I'm in love with. There's only you. I love **_**you**_**.**

Bella was still trying to process his message when Edward began talking. "You don't have to say how you feel right now. I realize you're confused. I wanted to get into it all the other morning at my place, but you didn't give me the chance. Please, just let's have breakfast and let me explain."

Bella nodded in agreement. Despite the caution of his parents to wait until Bella remembered on her own, things weren't going to work out that way. If he didn't want to lose her [_and he didn't_], than it was up to him to tell her. She was ready.

"You and I share a story, Bella, and it's time you've heard it."

They spent hours that day talking and touching before they finally both came to an understanding. She admitted to various sudden emotional flashes with him but still didn't remember their time in the meadow.

Edward held back telling her about how he saved her. He told himself he wouldn't reveal the details of the morphine-induced coma to her until she told him those three little words. He hated the idea that she might chose to be with him based solely out of reciprocity or a sense of gratitude.

~x~

In the days that immediately followed their conversation in Bella's room, Alice's death and services were only made bearable to get through because Edward was there to hold Bella's hand the entire time. Meanwhile, Felix stayed close by Angela's side.

~x~

**A/n:**

And there we have it...all he ever had to do

was show her the damn picture! So simple.

Are those tears in your eyes? *sniff, sniff* Yeah, mine neither. Just allergies.

The chapter title is a line from the song

"I Will Remember You" by Amy Grant

(It just seems to fit.)

I'll post the video link on my profile-check out the story it tells.

Cool orange old truck in it, very Bella!

Before you ask about her memories...

I have 3 chapters left & an outtake.

Keeping in mind what I said early on, how

I didn't want this sequel to be full of

cliches, I'm guessing that surely

have it all figured out

by now, right? No? Maybe re-read the summary?

**I'd really love to hear**

**from all of you!**

be good,

kiTT :)


	35. At present,Con't 11

**A/n: You didn't listen to the song, did you? Maybe I'll add another song up on my profile page, just for sh*ts and giggles.**

**Hey TwiWeasel, remember when we thought we'd post chapters for this daily for 1 month? ROFL! It all seemed so easy in the beginning!**

So reader** helenemc **wrote**: "Nope, I do not have it figured out. But then I stopped trying because I figure you would throw in a twist that I did not expect." **Anyone else think that? Really...this late in the story you think I have a twist? Me? *LOL* Who am I...M. kiTT Shymalan? Are there any _signs _or do you guys just have a _sixth sense_ about these things? *giggles*

Disclaimer: Do I have a disclaimer? What about Twilight? And Rob? They should have presented themselves to ME with a disclaimer about taking over my life! :) It's not too late for Rob to show up in person and warn me about himself...himself, in case he is wondering.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**At ****Present**

**~x~**

**Cont'd...**

"Do you ever think it's weird that Felix and Angela ended up together?" Edward asked.

"No, Edward." Bella expressed amusement over his question. "Why would I think it's weird?"

"You know," Edward checked over his shoulder before continuing, "because he was into Alice."

"That was seven years ago! People have to get on with their lives."

"I guess."

"Hey, what was the guy to do? As I recall, by the time he moved in with you, I was always over at your house! When I suggested we swap rooms, I was really only joking. Who knew he'd take me up on it?" Bella laughed. "Besides, I don't think Felix was ever completely Alice's type. They were better as friends than as a couple. And Angela was a little bit of a mess before Felix."

"Uh, yeah, let's not rehash_ that_." Edward rolled his eyes.

"So it's kind of romantic, actually." Bella sighed. "At the time, Alice had brought two couples together."

"I thought you always said we were brought back together by destiny."

"We were, we were," Bella appeased him. "But if Destiny had a child, her name wouldn't be Beyonce. It'd be Alice." Bella laughed at her own joke before continuing. "They were just fated to meet through her. Felix and you were the reason Angela and I made it through those days, you know."

Bella smiled at the thought of Alice and Jasper together. When the time came, it was them, as a couple, who showed her _everything, _thus, successfully releasing her memories of Edward and the meadow.

Bella was still worried that he would think she was crazy to take credit for introducing Alice and Jasper, let alone answer his question.

~x~

* * *

A/n:

As we come to the end, let's recap some of your favorite parts along the way...

the ice cream fantasy

falling in the leaves and the 'first' kiss at the park

when Edward used that _line_ on her...

the date, from the farm to the singing to the punching to the kissing...

when Edward carried her to bed and sang to her

the thunder storm in the park

her 'visit' to his house

the chapter that made you rethink it all...

Bella asking Edward to stay the night

Jasper and Bella making peace with their past

Alice meeting Jasper

And who could forget Edward opening his mail from his mom to see a picture of Eddie and Bella? _bwahaha Too soon to joke about it?_

when Edward tells Bella he loves her

Did I leave your favorite out? Or did I lose you back at the ice cream fantasy?

**Come on, anyone can get in on this! Tell us in the comments...**uhh, please? lol

be good :)

kiTT


	36. Fate Can Defy Logic

A/n: School's out! Ready for the pool, beach, some cookouts, and Mike's Hard (twss) Lemonade. Classy, right? Okay so before we get to the very laaaaaaast chapter, I wanted to wish everyone a great summer! I plan to pop in with an outtake at some point.

I added some pictures on my profile page for the last few chapters! Check them out!

Thanks to **NKubie** for this chapter's title. :) It was a little gem she told me in a PM once. She also told me that Destiny is a cruel, evil bitch if she were to keep Bella and Edward apart any longer. LOL I think she was referring to me.

Last chapter put me at over 500 reviews! Woohoo! I have all of you to thank for that! **Thank you!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. And I don't like lima beans.

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**Fate Can Defy Logic**

~x~

Bella hadn't told him yet, but Edward wasn't worried.

They had been a full-fledged couple since that day he showed her the picture. There was no more Mike, and Bella was reassured every time she looked into Edward's green eyes, two lit flames burning for only her, that he loved her more than Mike ever did and in a way that no other man _could _love her.

There was a soft tapping on the condo's door. Bella smiled as she looked through the peep hole. It was him. She opened the door and quickly motioned to him that she was on the phone but waved him in with an accompanying smile. To him, she was beaming.

He nodded as he removed and hung up his coat to signal he understood that she was on the phone, then closed the door and, with a playful growl and tilting of his head, admitted that he was liking what he saw - Bella in a short brown suede skirt and matching brown suede heeled boots that went halfway up her legs. As he approached the hallway he whispered, "Angela?" pointing down toward her room.

Bella covered the mouthpiece of her phone and whispered, "Already left."

_Good, _thought Edward as his eyes went wide roaming her when she turned away and headed into the kitchen. He followed, coming up close behind her, admiring the soft waves of her hair. He loved when she put those big curls in her long hair. Sliding the hair to the side, he kissed her neck to say _hello. _"Hi," he whispered into her uncovered ear, inhaling in a deep whiff of her hair. Her hand came up to lightly rub over the stubble on his cheek as she leaned back into the warmth of his black sweater and the smell of his musky aftershave.

"Oh, so it really would have blown Daddy's initial cover, somehow?" Bella was saying into the phone. "But even years later you guys were still worried?"

Edward realized Bella was talking to her mom. He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her from behind, and tried to listen. Bella angled the phone out for him.

"_Well at some point, when we knew we wouldn't be returning to Forks, it didn't seem to matter. Your father and I had actually discussed it on the way to Forks that day and had decided it was time to tell you. Actually, we were hoping that there would be time to show you. Maybe you don't remember us saying how we were going to look up some of our old haunts and old friends during our visit."_

"No. I don't. So by old friends, you mean..."

"_Edward's family, for one."_

Edward and Bella looked at each other, the same thought crossing through both of their minds. Would they have had the chance to meet outside of the hospital? If so, she might have been newly engaged to Mike, and he might have been preoccupied. Would they both have brushed it off as a mere chance encounter? A simple exchange of "Nice to meet you" that would have gone along with a sweet story told by nostalgic parents? Or, would meeting in person have been enough to trigger feelings for each other that they'd both act on before it was too late?

"_Oh your father just walked in. Don't forget, he wants to talk to Edward when he gets there." _

"He's here, Mom." Edward squeezed Bella's waist slightly.

"_Oh, he is! Okay, well you two have a good time, and I'm gonna miss my baby, but we talked about this before, so I half-expected it. I'm just glad you'll have Edward with you. Make sure you have a good meal. And bring a hat if it's cold. Here's your father. Kiss. Kiss." _

"I will. Bye Mom. Love you, too."

"_Hey Bells._"

Bella could hear her father rubbing at his mustache. "Hi, Daddy."

Edward had continued to peck and nip at Bella's ear and neck lightly. Until, in an effortless motion, he turned her around and lifted her up onto the counter to sit.

"Ahh!" Bella covered her mouth at the surprise yelp she had let out.

With an impish smirk and a glint of hell in his eyes, Edward mouthed "_Oooh, it's Daddy_..." then leaned in and kissed her on her lips. With her hand at his chest, she pushed him away from her.

"_So everything is going well with Edward, I guess?"_

"Yes...yes, Daddy."

"_It's all still, uhh, kind of new, though, right? I mean, you're still just getting to know each other, taking it slow and all."_

Edward leaned in and kissed her again, his hands at her hips, his fingertips finding their way just under her sweater at her waist. When she pushed his hands away and broke the kiss, he found his way to her boots, unzipping one.

"Whoops," Edward whispered with a grin, as he tugged at the boot and it dropped to the floor.

"Um, yeah Dad, all of that. Can you hold on a second? I'll be right back."

Before Charlie had barely gotten a one-word answer out, Bella had put the phone down on the counter next to her, wrapped her arms around Edward's neck, pulled him into her, and kissed him full on as if the fire that existed between them had just been doused with lighter fluid, sending sparks shooting out everywhere.

"Mmmm..." he thrummed and groaned as his arms secured her legs around his back. _Where did this come from? _he wondered. Not that he was complaining.

Bella broke the kiss, panting slightly, gave him a big toothy grin and put her finger up to his lips and picked her phone back up.

"Sorry, Daddy. I heard something, uhh, _fall_, and had to go check it out, but everything's fine."

"_Right. Okay, so your mother just filled me in on your plans, with Edward. If he's there, can I speak with him?"_

"Uh, sure." Bella held the phone out to Edward, who was grinning as he stroked her silky pantyhose-covered leg. "He wants to talk to you."

Upon taking the phone, Edward released her legs and greeted Mr. Swan with a, "Hello, Sir," as he stepped away to put some distance between himself and Bella.

Bella muttered something sarcastic about not letting her distract him. Edward listened intently as Charlie spoke to him regarding the time in the hospital. He was mostly concerned with whether or not the story of the morphine overdose and "saving" Bella was true.

"Yes, sir._ I_ believe so. It was a deliberate action on my part."

Charlie didn't know what to think but found himself _thanking_ Edward for saving his little girl and asked if Bella knew yet or remembered.

"No, sir. Not yet." Edward looked back over at Bella, still sitting on the kitchen counter. "She's agreed to date me, so there's really no rush."

"_I've seen a lot of horrible stuff out there, and still, I'd like to think of myself as a man of strong faith who believes in miracles. So if that's what this was, and you were involved, then h__er mother and I thank God for you. All my experience saving lives as a cop and all your father's experience saving lives as a doctor, and both of us were helpless in that damn hospital when it came to my own daughter." _Charlie choked out. _"Take care of her."_

"I intend to, sir."

"_Good. And Edward, let's make sure we talk about any of your future _intentions_ face to face._"

Edward smiled because he knew he was so fucking in like Flynn. "We can do that sir, maybe over summer break?"

"_Yeah...That sounds about right, Edward."_

Before Charlie hung up, he extended the customary greetings to Edward's family that Edward assured he would pass on to them when he planned to speak to them later that day.

When Edward ended the call, Bella asked him what was happening over summer break. Edward walked back into the kitchen and just smirked at her before saying, "I think your Dad likes me and wants to take me to a baseball game. Buy me a beer and a hot dog."

"_Oh_-kay." Bella hopped down, replacing her boot.

"Or maybe _he_ wants to get me a dog collar, too."

Bella stopped still. She had forgotten she said that to him. The look on her face dropped, knowing how sorry she was to suggest that about him.

"Bella, I'm joking." He squatted down and zipped up her boots, then stood up. "You don't have to worry about any of that. I found our little dance _amusing _at times."

"Oh you did?" she answered, unsure if he was telling the truth.

"Yeah. And I like these boots. . ." He closed his eyes and kissed her mouth with a quick, but hard, crushing against her lips.

"A lot. And this too." Rubbing his hand over the material of her soft skirt, he began, "You're so..." He kissed her lips softly and pulled back, licking at the strawberry-flavored lip gloss left on his lips. "Mmmm..._so_..." He leaned in to kiss her again.

"Yes?" Bella sighed, hoping he'd call her _s__weet, pretty_, or _sexy._

"Harvard," he answered with a wink, joining hands with her and walking her out of the kitchen.

Giggling at the memory, she was forced to respond with, "Maybe I am..." as she went to shut the lights off and grab her keys and purse.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, assuming she was.

"Um, I just want to show you something first. It's in my bedroom." She gestured with her thumb, hitchhiker style.

"Lead the way. I'm all yours. You can have every inch of me...and then some." Edward was smirking as he approached her room behind her. He amused himself with thoughts of that first time she had invited him into her room to show him her bed.

"Can you be serious for a minute? I want to show you something that is special to me." Bella reached up to a shelf on her wall and picked up a figurine. "This was my Gram's and when she died, she left it to me because when I was little and used to visit her house, I always wanted to play with this."

She carefully passed off the delicate porcelain figurine to Edward. He observed it as two children-a boy and a girl-who were playing dress-up and sitting on grass with flowers in front of them, about to kiss.

"She wouldn't let me play with it too much because it was breakable, but she would always pull it down from behind the glass doors of the china cabinet so I could see it up close. She'd leave it on the table and I would make up little stories about them."

"Stories?"

"Yeah. And, as far back as I can remember, I always called them Bella and. . ."

Edward had flipped it upside down reading the name of it, _I'm Giving You My Heart, _and then handed it back to her.

Bella paused.

"And what?" he pressed.

In a hushed tone but with sparkling eyes she answered, "Eddie," causing an immediate reaction to her words from him. His eyes went wide. He inhaled deeply. One of his hands intertwined with her free hand, snaking it behind her back and pulling her close into his inflated chest.

"No one _wanted_ to believe me. Fuck'em. I knew it was there all along." Swiftly his mouth was on hers, and through the movement of his lips and the caressing of her tongue, with his kiss he _told _her how much he loved her.

"Thanks for sharing that with me."

"Don't thank me. Thank Gram." Bella giggled as he released her and she returned the figurine to its shelf. "Oh here, will you do this?" Bella picked up the necklace from her bureau and held it out to Edward.

"Sure, turn around." Bella did as he asked, holding her long curls to the side and watching him from the mirror. He fiddled with the small clasp before opening it and placing it around her neck from the front. He caught her looking at his reflection and gave her half a smirk. "I'm glad you decided to keep it. There's actually a story behind this that I think I'll tell you about on the way." He secured the clasp and smiled at her in the mirror, before wrapping his arms around her hips and rocking her from side to side slightly. "We better go now though because everything about your body and this quiet room is tempting me to call this whole trip off and just stay here through the weekend."

Bella slid the pendant back and forth across the chain as she thanked him for his services and complimented his ability to stay so on task.

Edward looked around her room. "Where are your bags? You're packed, right?"

"Yep. In the living room."

Edward gave her a quick peck on her cheek and then pulled at her hand, guiding her out of her room, down the hall, and into the living room.

"Right over by the couch," she pointed toward the floor by the couch as she pulled on her coat.

He picked up her bag, grabbed his coat, and walked her to the door, waiting as she locked up the condo. They held hands as they took the stairs that led down to the parking lot. He had parked in the same spot as the night he came there after the coffee house. He always parked there if it was free. They situated their bags and themselves in the car and headed off on their road trip.

~x~

**A/n:**

This tied up some loose ends, right?

Though you know...road trips don't always go as expected...

Unless, you still have questions. Do you?

Ah, maybe this chapter causes more questions than actual answers. Like...where is their intended destination? Is 17ForeverLisa right? Are they heading out on a wh*le watching adventure? LMAO! (Not that she is still reading though...)

Speaking of which, is there anyone reading that I needed to welcome back to the story? If so, welcome back and thanks for giving the story another chance!

In addition to the pictures, I will post a link to a picture of the figurine. Technically, the figurine I described didn't make it out until the 90s, but just to give you an idea...

I'm going to try to post the last chapter this weekend. Follow me on twitter if you want a more definitive time. AT tonguetwied

TwiWeasel-I asked you a simple question. There's no need for you to become Woody Allen. *snickers*

**be good, **

**kiTT :)**


	37. So the Lion Tutored the Lamb

**A/n:** We're finally here. You guys know what I've got to say. I've enjoyed this-the idea of exploring continuing the story and so glad to have the Miss Beta Thang herself, TwiWeasel there from the beginning to end and have all of you here along the way, too! I don't read nearly as much FF as I used to (but it's all good stuff ;) to the twirls) but I know there is SO MUCH out there, so for you guys to have taken the time to include mine in your reading lineup is awesome. I know you all felt there was something special, different, and magical that happened with HCW and that's why you continued on to the sequel...I also know it's been a lot of ups and downs in their story as it moved to their RL at Harvard, but my hope is the ending taps into some of those original feelings you experienced for HCW. :)

So much has been _inferred_ in the story along the way. :) Just like in HCW, I'll discuss the inferences at the end of this chapter and if you have questions beyond there, feel free to ask.

The chapters between the **At present **chapters were always Bella and Edward remembering through flashbacks.

By the way, the chapter title verb is '**tutored**" NOT "tortured" j/s That's a Freudian slip waiting to happen. LOL!

Disclaimer: If but Chubby Checker would dance and Colonel Jessup could handle this...

**HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

* * *

**Harvard Can Wait...**

no longer

~xXx~

**So The Lion Tutored The Lamb**

~x~

Edward had stuck to the promise he made himself that day in her bedroom, and waited until she professed "I love you" to him before telling her about the measures he took to save her life. Bella was knocked-off-her-feet shocked when he explained how he had found a way back to her in the meadow and carried her out of there.

But, that is when things finally made sense to her. And in typical Bella fashion, her reaction was much different than what he expected.

First she berated him for having done something 'so stupid' as to put his own life in danger in that way.

Then, it was her turn to shock _him_. For as much as Edward thought his place had always been as the narrator of _their_ story, because Bella hadn't remembered the meadow dream and he had, he was entirely caught off guard the moment the tables turned. In the end, it was lamb who tutored the lion, when Bella informed him about _her_ _dream experience_ just before waking up in the hospital in Forks.

So many times he had been down on himself for failing her, for allowing his parents to persuade him into thinking not being there when she woke up was the right decision. Only she could finally lift that burden of guilt he carried. When she offered an explanation of the events from her point of view, he came to realize that not only had he _not_ failed her, he had _empowered_ her. Their relationship was made stronger from that day on because of the revelation.

Like a star that guides a ship across the ocean, his love for her had left a map on her heart, that she had followed back to him.

~xXx~

_What parameters defined the journey of Edward and Bella?_

_Their journey was a culmination of that which each had experienced and remembered individually as well as how each felt and reacted when they decided to share their stories with each other._

___When Destiny reset the clock, _

___it left Edward and Bella as two halves to a whole of a unique experience _

___who would need to come together in order to complete their journey._

_~xXx~_

**A****t present**

~x~

**Cont'd...**

A young boy with golden wavy hair came running full force through the field toward them.

"Uncle Eddie! Aunt Bella! Mom says to tell you time's up! Grandpa Carlisle is cutting bird in twenty minutes!"

Edward mouthed to Bella, "_See!_" as he pointed to his watch. He knew they didn't have a lot more alone time in the meadow today. Bella laughed knowing they weren't traveling back to California until Sunday evening, and it was only Thursday afternoon.

"Hey squirt, it's called _carving the turkey _not 'cutting bird'. And I thought we agreed that you were going to call me Uncle _Edward_."

"That was before my Daddy said he'd give me five bucks _and_ build me a new tree house if I kept calling you Uncle Eddie."

Edward rolled his eyes, looking toward his wife. "Of course my brother said that. I think it might be time to break the brother code," he threatened with a smile.

"Be right back! Grandma Esme gave me a whole quarter to make a wish in her wishing well!" The young boy ran off behind them.

"That's _our_ wishing well..." Edward called back over his shoulder but let the sentence end there, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with a 5 year old, especially one that shared DNA with his brother and that wife of his.

With a grin Bella responded, "It's really worth it if you think about it. We'll come back to visit one day and there will be a new, sturdy tree house to climb up into." She waggled her eyebrows at Edward. "Besides _Uncle Eddie_," she giggled, "we'll have our chance to get him back."

From the wishing well, the young boy called out, "Uncle Edddie, what's A-L-I-C-E mean?"

They knew he was reading from the small bronze plaque on the top edge of the wishing well. "How about we explain that when you're older, bud," Edward told him.

"Much older," Bella said just to Edward, giving him a peck on the cheek. _Maybe I'll explain it all to you, too._

"What'd you wish for?" Bella asked with a beaming grin when the boy returned to them.

"Can't tell you!" he answered honestly, but not in a mischievous way.

Bella held the sunflowers out to the young boy asking, "Will you take these back inside with you and ask your Mom to find a vase for them, please?"

"Anything you say, Aunt Bella. Anything but telling you my wish, that is!" He flashed a coy smile.

"Oh look at that, you've inherited the trademark Cullen boy smirk." Bella looked between the boy and Edward.

Edward smirked. "You mean this?" He pointed to his own mouth. Bella nodded.

"Yep, that's the very one."

Rosalie Cullen emerged from the backyard of the home she shared with her husband, Emmett, their son, Tristan, and daughter Emily. The family lived in the cape cod style house that Bella had once lived in when she was young, before moving to Arizona. The house was much different than those days, painted slate blue with red shutters, per Rosalie's country tastes. It now had a large extension in the back of the house that had been built by Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle. Bella remembered fondly the week she and Edward had spent there to help frame out the extension. She smiled at the memory of herself and Rosalie watching their husbands working outside in sleeveless wife beaters and tool belts - all muscles, motion, and sweat as they measured wood, swung hammers, and ran the saw.

"Come on you two! I told you guys before that you only had thirty minutes out here to reminisce before I wanted Edward back inside to mash up some potatoes for dinner! And now Bella's parents have just called and said they are fifteen minutes away, which means that if this belly," Rosalie pointed to her swollen tummy, "is getting rubbed and blubbered all over by Renee, then yours is too."

_Too many fucking hormones around here!_ Edward thought. He watched as Rosalie started talking to Tristan.

"Sometimes I still can't believe my brother married her," Edward muttered to Bella. "Some shrink she is."

"Edward stop it. She didn't know. Our situation was a little more unorthodox than most. She's been nothing but supportive."

"Yeah, yeah. You know she just wants to write our story and get it published in some medical journal, or use it as the basis of a book and make money off of us, right?" Edward helped Bella up to a standing position, then dropped to his knees, gathering the blanket he had spread out and shaking out the leaves. "I guess we didn't need this. I didn't even get a chance to play Gia." He removed the metal guitar slide from his finger and deposited it into his guitar case.

Bella sighed happily. "I really like the addition of the two benches out here."

"You should, seeing as we paid for them." He looked up to her with a wicked grin.

"Maybe you can keep that in mind the next time you have one of your little outbursts."

"I said I was sorry for kicking the bench." Edward frowned in shame.

"I think it's nice. I'm glad we have something left here from our wedding," she said, seeking to change his expression.

"Me too," he smiled, lowering his eyes as he remembered their perfect wedding day. He spoke to the belly he was eye-level with, "So listen little Alice…"

"Or Alec," Bella interjected quickly.

"Okay, here's the deal, munchkin," he began. "Don't give Mommy too much trouble after the gravy and mashed potatoes." He snorted slightly. "Wait until you meet Charlie. He thinks I'm the greatest son-in-law ever." Edward laughed again.

"Are you done having fun?"

"Not yet!"

Bella rolled her eyes at how her husband liked to carry on.

"Don't be scared of Renee's enthusiasm," he continued, "she gives us all a good dose of that, and when you can talk, I'm thinking your Uncle Emmett deserves to be called Uncle Pork Chop." He kissed her belly, right at the protruding belly button, and in response, Bella laughed, confessing that the baby moved.

"The munchkin likes your voice," she reassured him as he picked up his guitar.

"Why don't you leave that out here. That way we'll have to come back out, and you'll get a chance to play to us." Bella lightly patted her belly.

"Really?" he asked with excitement.

"Yes."

He moved his guitar case up onto the bench and slung the blanket over his shoulder. As he stood up, almost automatically, he interlocked pinkies with Bella.

"We were just heading in," Bella responded to Rosalie with a wave and watched with kind eagerness at the interaction between Rosalie and Tristan, who were examining the sunflowers. Rose placed an arm around her son's shoulder and led him up the red and gray flagstone path that complimented the back of the house.

"It's still so unbelievable sometimes that your brother bought _this _house, of all houses."

"Maybe not _so_ unbelievable. My mom had learned through the family at the hospital that they intended to sell it and move out to Seattle. The more unbelievable part is that Emmett wanted to open up a family practice here in Forks."

"I'll always be grateful. It was the perfect place for our wedding."

"It was, as long as there was no rain and mud that day. Still hate the fuckin' mud," Edward added with a chuckle as he looked around the meadow.

Bella had taken two steps forward toward the house only to realize there was no give from his pinky where they were connected. She stopped and looked back at him. He was firm in his stance but looked at her expectantly.

"What is it?" she blinked, suddenly concerned. "Aren't you ready for this?"

"Why did you agree to get coffee with me that day, Bella?"

Bella giggled. "Oh, we're back to _that_?"

Edward inhaled the meadow air deeply. "Feels like we never left it."

"Edward, I've already fessed up to you."

"That's the fun in it. Besides, I want to hear it here in the meadow with our child to bear witness. So come on, say it!" He smirked at her in his crooked Cullen way. Edward and Emmett always had a way of being able to give commands with such goofy intent that they made it sound _so_ serious.

"Out loud," he urged, with one hand gesturing through the air, as if suggesting she had a larger audience in front of her.

Bella turned around and cradled his chin in her free hand, her thumb making repeated trails along his stubble, as if she was smoothing out a wrinkle, while she contemplated the repercussions of giving in to the whims of his ego today.

He leaned down and ghosted over her lips, his free hand reaching up to cover hers. Their foreheads met, but he was careful not to lean his weight into her, leaving room for her growing belly. A gust of wind tore through the meadow around them, perfectly sailing a dark auburn leaf, that almost matched the color of Edward's hair, through the hollow space left between their chests.

"C'mon Harvard, we don't have much time left before they get here. You better tell me now, before we go inside. We might not have a chance later." He gave her a cheeky grin.

He never got tired of hearing this part of _their_ story.

"What if I say no?" Bella said, quirking an eyebrow in challenge.

Edward dragged his mouth to her ear, parting his lips, allowing for feathery breaths to make her reconsider. "I could always make you," he whispered, hooking one finger at her collar and tugging the material of her sweater down just enough to expose her neck, with no qualms about tickling a pregnant woman.

Bella giggled before he even had a chance to do it.

"No, no! Not that!" She flinched as she laughed. "Okay, _Harvard_, I'll tell you. One. Last. Time." She put her index finger up to reiterate the 'one.' And yet, she knew this would not be the last time.

"Just before I opened my eyes in the hospital, I was…well you know, I thought I was dreaming that I had been left abandoned in mud, and I could feel that my leg was broken. I couldn't get up. I couldn't move. I had felt myself give up and succumb to death."

Edward made a pouting face, causing Bella to pause.

"Then suddenly, I realized I was being carried in a man's arms. I kept getting higher and higher off the ground. I thought he was an angel flying me up to heaven, but instead, I realized he was carrying me up a set of long, wide steps like those to a courthouse or a museum. Once we reached the top, he placed me down gently."

"You knew where you were?" Edward asked.

"No. I was too out of it, but when I opened my eyes I saw columns before me, big massive columns. And huge double doors. My vision was blurred by mud and tears, and I kept swiping away debris from my eyes, straining to see more, until I could finally read the Harvard logo on the door in front of me. I know now, that I was at Widener Library. I could hear his voice telling me over and over, "You belong here. We can be together here. Just remember someone loves you more than him." When I turned back, the man who had been carrying me was walking away from me. I called out to him, but he didn't answer me back or turn around. Instead he was yelling out, "No, not yet! It's too soon!" At first he was descending the stairs like normal, but then it was more like he was being pulled away, and I saw his body move straight across the air and disappear into the fog."

"And?" he encouraged, wanting to hear the best part.

"And when you turned away from me to retrieve my crutches at orientation, I looked at you from the back side and felt like I was reliving that part of my dream."

"And you're sure it wasn't that other dude, ya know, with the short blond hair?"

"No, Edward," she humored him, "it was definitely you. It just took me a long time to believe it. I guess it's a good thing you were being so patient."

"I wasn't going anywhere. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't really that long of a wait." He grinned. "I got a really good date in during that time. And some really good _other things in..._"

As eager as Edward had been to find out if Bella had remembered their shared dream time in the meadow, it was ultimately the last part of the dream—the part Edward, himself, had _not_ remembered upon waking up in the hospital—that was the key to Bella accepting his offer to get coffee after orientation.

He had listened with goosebumps and wide eyes that first time she told him, because it was a huge shock to him. The leaves in the park. The singing. The flowers. All the time he spent trying to get _her _to remember what _he _remembered was never as important as what he_ didn't _remember. He only remembered carrying Bella out toward his side of the meadow. He had never even considered there had been more to the dream, but he had no other choice than to believe her version of events. She described, in detail, a part of their time together that he had no recollection of, but he knew what he had told her in the meadow, that there _was_ a place they could be together if they left the meadow. It made sense that in his last desperate attempt to prove that to her, he would take opportunity to show her that place, essentially delivering her to Harvard.

"So you confirm that you both dream of _and_ recognize my ass?" he asked with a smirk.

Bella playfully tapped his cheek with her hand that still rested there.

"I confirm that in that moment at orientation, I felt flabbergasted, completely overwhelmed. My heart thudded uncontrollably and I was overtaken with the crazy notion that you could be him, the man whose arms I felt safe in, the man who had somehow rescued me."

He leaned in and kissed her to reassure her it had been him, and to express how much hearing the story again and again over the years supplied nourishment to his ego in a way that he thought no other man could possibly appreciate.

"Overwhelmed?" he asked before adding, "By the site of my fine ass?"

She smiled in agreement. "It's a fine ass."

He knew how lucky he was in so many ways. It had been months since he had asked her to tell that part of their story, and he hadn't counted on her becoming so emotional over it. He didn't know whether to attribute this to her being five months' pregnant or that they were back in their meadow surroundings.

"And to find out later what you did for me without self regard, the risk of you having not survived giving yourself an overdose of morphine?" She pushed on his chest slightly with one hand. "You stupid, overbearing ass! You could have died with that absurd plan of yours. Just to save _me_?" she exclaimed in heartfelt disbelief, getting herself worked up in the process.

"Shhh…_shhh_…." he brought his lips back to her forehead and gently laid them there whispering, "I may have saved us, but it was you who _chose us_."

Bella knew exactly what Edward meant. They had talked about it several times over the years.

After waking up in the hospital, without his presence or the knowledge that Edward really existed because she didn't remember the majority of their dream, the only thing she had to go on was what she felt in her heart. And what she held in her heart was enough to empower her, as it was left all up to her to make the brave choice to break up with Mike and go to Harvard. Those were _her _decisions. They were follow-your-heart decisions she made that led her back to Edward. Decisions she would never regret.

"**Bella! Bella!"** Edward and Bella heard her mother's frantic voice calling from the house.

"Ut oh! You're being paged all over again. Is it too late to go back and celebrate the same way we did our first year at Harvard?"

"Far too late for that," Bella rubbed her belly in a way to show him why it was too late.

"Come on," he said, "let's go express some Thanksgiving gratitude with those chuckleheads in there."

He released her face and wrapped an arm around her, guiding the hand of her other arm to lay across, but slightly above, her belly, so they could interlock pinkies again.

"Meadow forever?" he asked slyly with his knowing, crooked smile.

"Meadow forever," she sighed gratefully in agreement.

Bella leaned her head onto his shoulder, and they walked out of their meadow together in silence, heading inside to celebrate the holiday with their family.

_Luckily for Edward Cullen,_

_his true love revealed that the parameters of his journey _

_extended beyond what he thought he knew and remembered._

~the end~

**A/N **

***smiles sweetly* Now who thought I had killed off Bella? Would I do that?**

**Remember how we started this journey on Thanksgiving and that's where it ends. :)**

**Please GO see the beautiful picture on my profile page.**

**Try to Just click on the link "Picture" The Last At Present made by Kelly {}discomROBulated.**

**The picture is great, complimenting my previous banners and showing you the final piece to this puzzle that you just read about. ****It made our hearts [[[SQUEEZE]]]] when we saw it!**

**And just above the picture link, there are some gratuitous shots of Edward for you and feel free to watch the Video from the movie "With Honors" I may have unknowingly channeled some of that movie and not realized it until {at}storywrtr mentioned it. Oh young preppy Brendan how I miss you!**

~x~

So what do you think? Did you end up liking it? Wait..have we got it all now, or...

Edward carried Bella out of the meadow in HCW and we find out now that he actually delivered her to Harvard, but Destiny didn't give him much time to do so, because after placing her there, he regained consciousness in the RL and his soul was pulled away from her to return to his physical body in the hospital.

* * *

**Some Q & A . . .**

**1. Does Bella remember? **

**Yes! S_omewhere along the way with the help of Alice and Jasper_, she does. Outtake, anyone?**

**2. Does Edward remember what Bella revealed to him? **

**No. He just likes to hear about it from her and make a big deal out of it because he's cheeky, cocky, and lovable like that.**

****Bella's memory flashes were different than Edward's...therefore, different than yours (the readers). Yep, I kept you guys so focused on Bella remembering the HCW stuff and falling for Edward at Harvard, that you never suspected there was MORE to the dream you didn't know about, did ya? When I presented this idea as the crux of a sequel to TwiWeasel she flipped and told me the same thing you guys are saying right now-_kiTT, you're evil._ ****

**3. Is Widener Library haunted? Hmmmm...For the purpose of this story, it was supposed to be a place where the veil is thin between the two worlds, an entry/passageway, possibly opened and kept open by the actual Mr. Widener, or so Felix might say. **

**Felix's ghost story about Widener library was the first clue that something 'paranormal' would come into play in this story. First ****Jasper and Alice meeting up with Bella at Widener library in her dream. Then finding out about Edward bringing her there from the meadow.**

**4. The biggest clue to the twist ending was when Alice saw Bella in the dream and asked her, "Would you mind telling me how you got up all those steps [with your broken leg]?" And Bella answers, "I think I had help." **

**5. From the beginning, there were several references to steps/stairs and plenty of times when Bella was staring at Edward's backside. The most important one being at the end of their date. He is leaving her condo and she watches him walk down the stairs then says his name, like she's finally putting a name to the face she recognized, only it wasn't a face, it was his ass! lol **

**God love TwiWeasel who called me out during the Coffee Date chapter saying, "I don't get why she can't go up and get coffee with him." To which I explained, Bella needed opportunity to stare more at his ass. [Don't pretend you don't know the feeling.]**

**6. To those of you that kept pleading throughout this that you just wanted E and B to be together? They were together all along. *ducks***

**7. Those "At Presents"**

**Yes, this whole time in the At presents, they've been alive and well in the actual meadow. **

**Oh you started out thinking they were on a random bench at Harvard, then sitting at 'their' bench at Harvard, then started thinking they were in the dream meadow and somehow just accepted that a bench was there, then realized they were in the real to life meadow. This was all As planned. I'm evil.**

**8. Surprises Chapter 16: **

**Maybe I should have titled this chapter 'Distractions' as that is all Demetri, the mystery blonde, all the drama was-a big distraction ...for you, the readers. *hides***

**In HCW when it was just E and B, all their complications were 'out there' in that other world (RL) and their love bloomed in the meadow. Once they merged into RL, they were bound to get caught up in those complications. What I tried to show is that despite Edward's parents' cautions, a pending reappearance of Mike, and Bella's discussion with her friends, is that their love was always still there in moments between just the two of them. So...**

**... the only thing that mattered in this chapter was that when Edward showed up and he CARRIED a drunk and out-of-it Bella to bed, she said, 'Oh, it's you.' That was her inner self recognizing the man who had carried her up the stairs of the library. :-)**

**9. At Present Chapter 17**

**Bella says, "It's not like I had the strength to stay away from you very long." She's referring to the fact that it really was only 1 week that Bella went without seeing Edward while at Harvard. She was too connected to him.**

**10. Locked out of Heaven Chapter 18:**

**The Wishing Well at the park. This was a little foreshadow that someone was going to die in the story. Edward and Bella have chosen to pay tribute to Alice's memory with a wishing well in the meadow. When Edward checked over his shoulder in Chapter 35 At Present #11, he was looking back at the wishing well as he referred to Alice.**

**11. Guest Accommodations Chapter 21:**

**Yes, Bella's thoughts had to turn to Jasper the morning after in Edward's bathroom, to pave the way for his unusual reappearance in her life. I hope it made the necessity of his apology to Bella understandable.**

**When I originally wrote this, I had no idea that so many of you would be 'looking' for Jasper to be in this story because of his role in HCW. He WAS always written in this way, but like I said, I still didn't expect some of my readers to be looking for him. I underestimated ya'll and your love for Jasper. My apologies. **

**The replaced sunflower. *sings* Outtake. :)**

**12. Eddie Chapter 25:**

**Bella's first dream in this chapter was the second biggest clue that was meant to compliment Alice asking Bella how she made her way up the steps. I think this dream was probably very overlooked. Again, an author counts on these things. :-)**

**The second dream of Eddie was more the distraction but did represent she had those memories locked down deep inside of her, especially now that you know about the figurine.**

**13. At Present Chapter 26:**

**Bella remarks how Edward always tells her that time moves differently there. Yes, in small towns, like Forks, time seems to move differently. Not in dream meadow. I'm evil.**

**14. While You Were Sleeping Chapter 27:**

**Anyone else think it was possibly Emmett in the hospital who had made good on his threat to come to Harvard and kick his brother's ass based on the movie with the same title? That would have been a good reason Edward went to the hospital instead of to Bella's, right? Another possibility thanks to 17ForeverLisa. **

**15. Angela didn't fall for Felix until after Alice passed away. As a couple, they fit, right? When Alice told the story of how Felix made her penne vodka the first time he had invited her over, Angela remarked how much she liked that. That was the first hint to them ending up together. :)**

**One more round of thanks, and then I have one last question, that I'll leave all of you to ANSWER ON YOUR OWN.**

**TwiWeasel-**I'd be remiss if I didn't thank you AND bring up Bruce Springsteen. (It's been like a month.) You're smashing, yeah baby!

**Storywrtr-**Thank you for taking time to read and review, and support this even though I know you are busy. SQUEE!

**12MONTHERS-** *points finger and makes circling movement* I still think you all had it figured out! LOL It just makes sense-you have the advantage of 'knowing' me the best and you all read a ton of fanfic together! And you are all very smart.

**SassyKassie-**Fab banners! Loved them. Thanks!Thanks!Thanks! Ready to work on that VM / Twilight fic now!

**Kelly-**That final picture you made was perfect. Thank you!

**17ForeverLisa-**I don't know who cried more when you acknowledged what was going on in these chapters, me or you. I mean, sure, sometimes I was crying from laughing so hard Corbs, but...Not that you were still reading it or anything...

** NKubie-** :) Thanks for all the chaTTing along the way.

To all of my readers and repeat reviewers that showed up chapter after chapter or came midway wondering why you kept putting yourself through this total mindf*ck-I've sent PMs along the way to each of you, and I do thank you for your support and your encouraging words and rec's.

* * *

**So final question, since storywrtr asked me about this after her first read through and I decided to go back and add the answer to the story. **

****Are Bella and Edward having a boy or girl?****

**Tell me in the comments!**

**~x~**

**It was tough to post this...but I've got a New Moon quote for you all...**

"I can let you go now..."

be good,

kiTT :)


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